Alteramorphs 1: The Conspiracy
by Vickie1
Summary: Jake is told by Kelly of her first vision with the Animorphs; involving his family going to his grandfather's cabin after his death. And Tom will not like that at all. Now armed with the vision, Jake becomes determined to prevent it from happening. But he never expects that with stopping a vision from coming true, something else will horribly go wrong. Based on The Conspiracy. RnR!
1. One

_**Summary: **After Elias Vanguard' death, the Animorphs and Ax are trying to adjust back to what is normal. The same goes for their newest recruit, Kelly, while in hiding, even coping with her powers. It's not long before she gets a vision and tells Jake about it. The first vision to the Animorphs. And it's not a pleasant one. Jake's grandfather is going to pass away and his family will travel to his grandfather's home to help with the arrangements. That means Jake's brother, Tom is not going to like that. Because that would mean going in another state. For a couple of days. He can't be away from the Yeerk pool for that long and will do anything to survive, even making his father less of a problem. Jake is determined to prevent the vision from happening if what she says is true. But it may just cost Kelly's life instead._

_Author's Note: Please read first megamorph, **Alteramorphs 0: The Alteration**, to understand the new stuff._

* * *

**One**

My name is Jake.

Just Jake.

My last name doesn't matter.

Where I live and go to school don't matter either.

What matters is that we're in a war, fighting for the survival of the human race.

You're thinking 'Yeah, right'. That's okay. I know – I probably would have said the same thing once.

No way. Not a chance. If it's true, then where are the troops storming the beaches? Where are the bombs? Where's the battlefield? The RPVs and cruise missiles?

Well, it's not that kind of a war.

It's a lot bigger than just that...

The battlefield is wherever we are, we being my friends and I. We are animal-morphers, given the ability to absorb DNA by touch and then morph into that animal. It's an incredible weapon, the kind that both dreams and nightmares are made of.

Ask Tobias. He stayed in his red-tailed hawk morph longer than the two-hour limit and now spends his days catching and eating small mammals.

Or check in with any one of us in the small hours between night and morning, when the nightmares of twisting bodies and mutating minds come.

Like I said, this is not your standard type of war.

We're the whole army, the seven of us now. We get some help from the Chee, but they are incapable of violence, so when it comes to the down and dirty, we're it. Us, alone, against an alien empire that has already terrorized the galaxy.

Yeah, I know. Nice odds.

Most of us learned to fight the hard way in a deadly, on-the-job-training-type deal.

But some of us had a head start, like my cousin Rachel, who loves it all. And Ax, whose full name is Aximili-Esgarrouth-lsthill, warrior-cadet and younger brother to Elfangor, the Andalite who gave us the power to morph before he was murdered by Visser Three.

And our newest member, Kelly. Only she doesn't have the morphing power. She chose not to have it but she's already gotten a taste of the war too. But she's probably the only one among us who had it tougher.

Because several days ago, a lot of things happened to her in one go. She found out about how she could predict things in the war. How she could use the ability to 'call' upon powerful creatures called the _Taliths_ – or as Ax translated, 'guardians', that we can morph into. And that the calling power was given to her by her future self, Elias Vanguard.

We also found out more things too. How Elias changed the past nine years ago so that Kelly could exist. How she had been fighting the Yeerks and even a future version of David for those nine years.

How Kelly would one day be Elias...a ruthless, emotionless time-travelling assassin.

And that the future...it wasn't going to be a hopeful one.

I know. Sounds like bull, right? People turning into animals, aliens, creature summoning that should have been from a game, time traveling and alteration? Sounds like maybe I need to spend some time in an asylum.

But it is true. Every now and then, the crazy becomes real.

And this isn't a clean war. If there is such a thing. I mean a war like World War II, where thousands saw the wrongs being committed and stood up to correct them. Where you attacked an enemy you could see, an enemy who wore a uniform and came right back at you, guns blazing.

It also isn't going to be clean any time soon or later. Elias showed us that with her methods and her technology. Even future David had lots of new tricks up his sleeve. Just how bad the war really looks like in the future.

This isn't that kind of war at all.

The Yeerks are more subtle than that. They aren't predators, they're parasites. They don't want to destroy humanity, they don't want to make big piles of bodies, they need our bodies in one piece to continue their invasion.

See, they're basically slugs. Parasites. No arms, no legs, no face. Blind.

That's why they need host bodies.

They slither into your ear, seep into the crevices of your brain, open your memories.

And you're still inside yourself while it's happening, trapped, helpless, begging for the nightmare to end.

Only it's real. And it doesn't end.

You want to warn people and you can't make the words come out. But the Yeerk in your head can hear them. It can hear your pitiful cries, your impotent threats. It can hear you beg, "Please, please leave me, please get out of my head, please"... And it can feel you slowly surrendering even the pretense of resistance.

The Yeerks are everywhere, using their involuntary human hosts to move freely, to recruit new members into their cover organization called The Sharing with promises of good, clean, wholesome family fun.

They're the ultimate enemy.

We've identified a few of them, though.

Our assistant principal, Mr. Chapman.

My best friend, Marco's mother.

My big brother, Tom.

I know how the guys fighting in the Civil War felt: North against South, brother against brother.

Living with the dark, ugly fact that if you met your brother on the battlefield, he would kill you.

Unless you killed him first.

I know the real Tom is still inside himself somewhere, raging against the Yeerk holding him hostage, begging for someone to save him.

I know because I was infested once by the same Yeerk who'd first infested Tom before his body had been turned over to a new Yeerk. I had access to its memories, so I saw how Tom had been dragged, screaming, fighting, and finally pleading to the Yeerk pool to receive his slug.

I was saved. Tom was not.

But it stays with me, that memory. It always will.

So will the battles. Win, lose, or draw, they're chaotic clashes full of pain and rage. And when the fighting's over and the adrenaline drains away, you're left exhausted and sick, with way too many memories.

My grandpa G - "G" for great-grandpa - told me something once, way before I ever could have understood what he'd meant.

My family had driven eight hours to visit him in his cabin in the woods. He and I were sitting on the dock at the lake, watching the fish snatch mosquitoes off the water's glassy, mirrored surface.

And it was so quiet.

Quiet enough to make me wish I was home with the TV blasting and my dog Homer gnawing on a rawhide chew.

I was about to leave when Grandpa G said, "You know, I see myself in you, Jake. You've got an old soul."

An old soul? Was that supposed to be good or bad?

He never said. Just gave me a small, kind of sad smile, and looked back out over the lake.

I hadn't known what he'd meant then, or why he'd said it. I don't know, maybe he saw my future, somehow. Because now I was old. You see too much pain and destruction, you get old inside. It's one of the by-products of war.

I also saw that in Elias too. Maybe worse than me. After all, she had been cut away from everything in her original timeline. She lost everything even before she travelled to the past. Right down to even her humanity. Tired and sick of seeing the same things all over again in this war when she had probably seen them once.

The only difference was she was the lone mercenary sent on someone's authorities to do an important mission – no questions asked – and I'm the unofficial leader of the Animorphs.

I send us into battle. When things go wrong, when we get hurt or have to run for our lives, that's on me, too. And it won't be long before I'll have to decide sending Kelly too to fight.

I'm not complaining. Has to be done. You know? Someone has to make the calls. A good leader has to make tough, informed decisions. Recognize his soldiers' special strengths and use them accordingly. Fight to win with the knowledge that he may die trying.

But most importantly, a leader won't ask anyone to do anything he wouldn't do himself.

That one came home to haunt me.

Because in five days' time, my brother Tom was either going to kill or be killed.

And it was up to me to decide.

How did I know this in advance?

I have Kelly to thank for that.

But I also wished it didn't go the way I had hoped it would.

* * *

Vickie: HELLO GUYS! I'M BAAAACK!

With the first book of the Alteramorphs! And while this will be a little similar to the book, like almost to the writing, I do hope to see how to take different directions into the story, even with the new stuff you have read in my first megamorph, the Alteration.

Repeating what I've said back in the "Don't Miss" page in my megamorph, The Alteration, it's gonna be mostly different from the original one. You see a totally new event that events from The Alteration have affected – maybe a little, maybe a lot – and still some familiar pieces from the old book. Also, not every story I write will have a new _Talith_ morph. Maybe new animal morphs but it really takes a lot of time for me to brainstorm. However, I am open to ideas you guys may think of. Just remember, a _Talith_ is either a fighter, protector, or supporter or 2 out of 3 combined, and it is made of 3 DNAs collected by the Animorphs. Those DNAs also have to be whatever is mentioned in before Book 30 and animals I'll write in my series. Cannot be one the kids don't have.

Also I will not be long-winded in my writing this time right. Hence not a lot of explanations from the Alteration will be repeated. If you want to be on track for you new readers, please read The Alteration (6308284). Maybe I'll be as true as I have been in my descriptions like my megamorph, just not going over 10000 words per chapter. :/

Also, I'm still strugging with the Conspiracy original story but I'll try my best at it without ruining it. Also I'd like feedback from you guys on this story. What you dislike or like about the Conspiracy. What I could avoid or try differently you'd like to see in the Conspiracy. Give your opinions. It's not just me that's shaping the story. :)

With that, this is the end of this note. I'll quickly post the next chapter this week but the next few may be slow. In all, see ya next time. Enjoy and please review. :D

The Conspiracy and the Animorphs is copyrighted to K. Applegate. Everything else that is new, I own.

PS. I am still doing the cover page for this story. :P


	2. Two

**TWO**

I opened my eyes, staring straight at the cracks in the ceiling. Looked at my alarm to notice it hadn't rang yet.

Another sleepless night.

This was the third time now.

It couldn't be helped.

Move on. That was what we were all doing. It was still difficult but we somehow managed to pull through during the day. At night, I just couldn't sleep much.

Might as well get ready for school. My teachers must be proud of me at being diligently early.

I crept out of bed, cleaned up, got dressed and walked down to the kitchen to see my dad there.

"Such a shame," he blurted out as he folded that day's newspapers and was about to skim through the mail. "Jake, you're up early again. Three days in a row."

"Hey, Dad," I mumbled. "Yeah, it's been a rough week."

"Really? Because it looked more like you just lost something dear. Want to talk about it?"

I smiled weakly and falsely at the same time. "I'm alright. I just have a lot of things on my mind."

He shrugged his shoulders, tossing the papers onto the counter. "Alright. I won't push. But you know you can always tell us."

"I know. What was it that was a shame?" I asked, changing the topic.

"Oh. Nothing you kids need to pay attention to. Just boring news stuff." His eyes casted back down to the newspaper before moving to shuffling the mail. "Well, maybe a little dark."

The headlines read, "Founder of Sciemark tragically deceased" boldly.

Oh, right. The news about that woman. So she passed away.

She was some hot shot who lived in the city. I remembered some time ago on the news that she stepped down from her work because of some medical reason weeks ago.

_Laurence I. G. DaSvan, more commonly known one of the wealthiest women in the world, has sadly passed away three days ago, from a cardiac arrest at 4:36 AM._

_The news came out shocking. Harold Eustis, VP of Qutirk Investments Ltd and supporter of the Sharing organization stated this after recently hearing of her death. "It is a pity to hear she has recently deceased. She was a dear friend to me and she will be missed."_

I furrowed angrily. Sharing. A word I didn't want to read so early in the morning. Or at any time.

Because that was the name of where our enemies hide behind.

Of course, the Yeerks would have some connection to a rich woman like. And not that kind. The kind that was telling me DaSvan was no doubt a Controller too. So was this Eustis guy.

I could have stopped reading from that point but I carried on. Out of curiosity about this DaSvan person.

_DaSvan was a well-recognized woman. She was the founder of Sciemark, whose company has not just been a great asset to police force and criminal investigation units but also many lives. Her service has contributed to help provide medical equipment to soldiers and hospitals. On the sideline, she has donated her time and finances to charity._

Of course. Ties with law enforcement forces that even the Yeerks would have taken over. I could already guess how much of a helpful hand she was to them.

I almost was ready to think that one less benefit gone for the Yeerks but at the time, I had to remind myself, this was a human. Who just died.

At least, she wouldn't have to suffer with her Yeerk anymore.

But then the next paragraph was a bit odd.

_With her sudden death, Christopher Arthur, her butler, was immediately made lawyer of her will and to only release half of her testament, as stated in DaSvan's legal document. __Mr Eustis_ is also currently fighting for the full release of her will, stating that Mr. Arthur is unfit to be possessor of the documents.

So the Yeerks' attention was on a will. Which was weird. If this Eustis guy and DaSvan were 'friends', he wouldn't be working over securing her will.

And this Arthur guy seemed to be butt-heading him.

Maybe I was thinking too much between the lines. I didn't even know DaSvan other than two or three appearances in the news. Neither this Mr. Arthur.

It could be that sort of situation where "the butler did it" and now he was trying to get the fortunes.

I kept on reading.

_As far as we can gather, Executive Vice President, Glynn Knight, has been appointed as CEO of Sciemark and a portion of DaSvan's finances is to be continued as donations to non-profit organizations such as WHO and WFF, orphanages and food banks. There is also a rumor that an heir is to inherit her estate and investments. However, it is uncertain at this time if she has one as DaSvan had no family or immediate relatives._

_A private funeral is to be held this week. _

And that was it. Still, it wouldn't help but to be cautious. Even after the events I had recently been through. I made a mental note to ask Erek on more info about this woman.

She may be dead but just in case, I needed to be sure there wasn't some benefit for the Yeerks out of this. They knew one thing: money also drives the world.

"Hm. Looks like you have mail, Jake." Dad handed me a letter in a white clean envelope and nudged me. "Maybe from a secret admirer?"

"Dad," I moaned and he went off with his coffee.

But it was odd. I didn't usually get letters and from the looks, it was quite formal.

No return address too. But someone had a very flowing and bold handwriting so it couldn't be some kid or even a 'secret admirer'.

Best part of the letter was that when I opened it, I found an empty card.

Like I really expected anything. Maybe it was some prank.

I was just too tired in the head that I just kept it in my pocket.

A lot of things happened.

My mind drew back to the woman's death in the newspaper. It reminded me of another.

Elias.

She's dead... Died at Cassie's barn from an overdose. Today would make it three days already.

Elias fought for so long until she was on the last stretch. That was what killed her.

We...we still miss her, even if we had only known her for a while. Even if we were moving on. It felt a little awkward that it was only a few days ago but...Elias wasn't here anymore.

She was always in the shadows, watching us. She helped us during our most dire situation when Kelly ran away. She taught us a lot, more than we ever asked for. Because of her, we got ourselves a new member and someone who could create new morphs for us.

And what was her reward out of all this? Death. Simple as that.

We pretty much have ourselves to blame. Or our 'original' selves. One thing that probably drove Elias to be self-sacrificing.

We were told she hated 'us'. We had been scolded for who we were. Still repeating the same things our 'original' selves did. It still stunk but not for the worse. I reflected what she said about me that day.

A leader. And yet, I was still capable of just looking out for our or mostly my benefits.

It was easy to make sacrifices that weren't us. No cost to make me repent over my choice.

Elias saw that in me like a book.

Even I couldn't help but wonder what I did to make Elias mistrust me or at least, my future self. Moreover, I could someday do the same to Kelly.

Changing time was really a pain. And Elias paid the price for that.

A whine down below me snapped me out of my thoughts. Homer was with me, wagging his tail and presenting his empty bowl.

Smart dog.

Yeah, we were moving on. Elias was gone. But her memory still struck with us.

I sure didn't know what was going to happen in the future. Maybe mess up like she said. So since her death, I replayed her words to me as a reminder every now and then.

More importantly, the one she told me personally.

I shouldn't carry all my burdens as a leader.

I fed Homer and went off to school. Endured through a boring day. Met up with Marco and after a somber hello and the same speech, "You still look worse", we went back to our old selves. By the end of the day, we crossed paths with the girls.

"So you guys wanna head to the mall today?" Marco asked.

"Actually, we have a detour in mind," Rachel uttered. "Ax's scoop."

"We need to give Kelly this week's school notes," Cassie pointed.

Marco raised an eyebrow. "You're joking, right? She asked you for notes? Why would she do that?"

"Oh, I don't know. To learn?" Rachel hissed. "She isn't like you, Marco. That's why she decided not to ask you for math and science notes."

"What? I'm hurt! I would have helped."

She folded her arms, skeptical. "Uh-huh. And with your terrible handwriting."

Unlike the four of us, Kelly couldn't go back to her normal life anymore. Not to her family or to school. One mistake and she'd be capture by the Yeerks. So right now, she was in hiding. A missing person to everyone outside our group.

But still, away from everything that's normal to you had to be hard. As much as she is determined to stay hidden to protect those she cared, I knew being away from her family had to hurt too.

She had asked Tobias twice about how they were doing. The small talk he could give was enough to make her smile and reassured.

But she still missed them. I would miss mine too.

"Wouldn't hurt to check up on her too. It's not really the same since she can't come to school," I admitted.

"Yeah. It feels less lively than usual," Cassie said. "She was really popular among most kids."

"Of course. She was the oddball consulter of this school. Better than our counselor," Marco droned. "Though I think I heard Darlene saying good riddance to her."

Rachel snorted angrily. "Stuck up snob."

"Well, you can't win everyone," I said. "Alright. Let's go see them."

The four of us left school and headed to the abandoned site to morph into birds. We took off to the sky, making our way to Ax's place.

But Ax and Kelly weren't there. So they had to be at the other place.

Some distance away from Ax's scoop was a small ridge by the river: ideal spot for hiding from any wandering campers or Yeerks. That was where Kelly had set up camp there for three days now.

Horatio, Kelly's Bernese mountain dog stood up from the ground and wagged his tail at our arrival. Near a dying fireplace was Ax – no doubt keeping Kelly company. And beside him, sitting on a log was Kelly, yawning. Noticing Horatio stirred, she glanced over her shoulder and smiled.

"Hey, guys."

One look and I could she was slightly worse for wear than us.

"Hey. You haven't had enough sleep too?" I asked.

She shrugged her shoulders. "It's like that all the time. Before, I mean. I'm ok."

Cassie frowned. "Kelly, you really need to do something about this insomnia."

"Yeah, I know." Kelly rubbed her eyes. "But it's usually because of the dreams. I'm still trying to get used to them. I kinda thought once I knew everything, they wouldn't be so..."

"Confusing?" I threw out the word.

"Yeah. At least now, I'm not afraid of them. I've been trying to do other stuff to take my mind off of them."

(_Kelly has been showing me human survival skills,_) Ax said. (_Using a common material to do many tasks. What was it you called it?_)

"Flint. The handiest tool in history," Kelly answered, waving a small, jagged, smooth stone in her hand. "I found it while exploring the cliffs east of here a year ago. Has been useful to me ever since."

(_Yes. Very primitive but still interesting._)

"It can't be helped we're not that far in technology like your people, Axmili. Yet. But I like the old ways better."

"Better than just using a lighter?" Marco droned. "Or matches?"

"That's if you have those things with you."

"Does your family often camp?" I asked.

"No. Not with Dad's disability. I learned everything about survival from Chogan. Then I continued reading up on them on my own after that. It became my thing."

"You know, normally girls would be doing girly stuff," Marco uttered. "Like Xena."

Elbowed at the side.

Kelly laughed softly. "Sadly, I'm not normal, am I?"

"Oh. Here are the notes we took." Rachel and Cassie handed over a neat stack of papers.

"Thank you," Kelly said. "Was there any homework?"

"Hold it. You want to do homework?" Marco droned. "You're particularly free now! You should be doing other stuff! Better yet, think of more _Taliths_."

Kelly gave a small tired frown. "As much as I like the freedom away from school, I don't like boredom. There's not really much for me to do here. And I told you. It takes time for me to think of new creatures."

"Don't mind him," Rachel said. "He's just annoyed because he's struck with a small _Talith_ morph."

"Hey!"

(_I have been showing her my television to help her be entertained and pass the time,_) Ax exclaimed. (_Or rather, she has been extremely helpful in explaining a lot of things in the TV.)_

"And I'm grateful to watch with you, Axmili. But I really want to be moving my legs more. Well, it is my fault I'm struck here in the first place," Kelly pointed, casually shrugging her shoulders.

"Maybe it's about time you did something else," Cassie said.

"And you're suggesting she should go to the mall?" Marco asked.

"Well, she did go unnoticed the last time. Just wear your cap and jacket and you're done. You're some other friend we know," Rachel stated. "And a guy."

Kelly looked uneasy. "I don't know. Wouldn't it be a good idea for me to stay put?"

"Kelly. You've been here for three whole days. You got to do something. And you're with us." Rachel turned to me. "What do you say? You guys did say you wanted to go to the mall."

"You do know you're just endangering all of us, right?" Marco muttered.

Now as the leader, I would be against suggesting bringing Kelly out of the woods. And Kelly was important, especially with her capabilities if she ever fell into the Yeerks' clutches.

But like Rachel pointed out, Kelly was good at not being noticed. During the time she ran away from home, she basically kept a low profile. Even we didn't realize it until only later. And we would be keeping a close eye on her this time.

Sounded more like escorting a VIP into a dangerous part of town.

Either that or she'd get cabin fever.

"Alright. As long as you don't talk to anyone."

Kelly lit up gleefully. "Promise. Can Horatio stay at the barn for a while?"

"Sure," Cassie replied. "He's welcomed there."

(_I will locate Tobias then. He had gone off to look for a meal._)

"Ok, then. We'll meet up at the barn then."

"If movies are our target today, let's find a good epic one to get her inspiration juices pumping," Marco uttered.

"Are you really that fixed on getting a new _Talith_?" Rachel moaned.

"Okay. How about we trade _Taliths_? Oh, wait. We _can't_."

Once Kelly got hold of her cap, she then ran up to me with a concerned face.

"Jake," she called out. "Could I have a word with you first?"

"Sure," I replied. "You guys go ahead. We'll catch up."

We waited for the others to leave and it was just us two. Well, Horatio included.

"Is something up?"

"I've been holding back something important. But then again, I don't know how to say this..." Kelly began, directing her eyes to the ground and then to me. "Jake...do you have a grandfather?"

"Well, just one. But I also have a great grandfather."

"Does either of them live in a wooden house? Somewhere near a lake?"

Ok, that was slightly creepy how she asked those questions and right on the dot too. "Yeah. My great grandfather. Why?"

Kelly's eyes became sad. "I...think you should hear this. Last night...I got a vision."

I raised my eyebrows and stared at her, shocked.

Kelly has another ability; seeing premonitions in her dreams. And Elias had it too. Supposedly, it's those kinds of things you read in paranormal websites. A special kind of clairvoyance. It was the whole reason why Kelly ran away.

Every single of her dreams were always correct. And the descriptions she told us were frighteningly detailed to the point. She had predicted us going to the construction site that one night. Had also once heard Ax's message in her dream when he was in his dome underwater. And before she met us and learned about the invasion, she was terrified and confused of them.

I even had a glimpse into them, just by touching Elias when she had a vision too. It was so uncanny that I understood better why Kelly would have been so afraid of them.

And now I was about to get another. The first vision Kelly was telling to anyone.

"Is it...the Yeerks?" I asked worriedly, wondering what the connection with Grandpa G. was.

I hoped it was nothing. Better yet, that it wouldn't be anything of Grandpa G.'s life being endangered by those Yeerks.

"I think it's both. Maybe... I don't know."

She sighed deeply, trying to find the right words.

"...I saw your great grandfather die."

* * *

Vickie: ...Well, ain't that a tension breaker.

I decided to upload the next chapter today cuz I felt it wasn't right to have such a short chapter last time, even though it was an introductory one.

So now, we have Jake learning about a vision. One he never expected. How this will unfold, ah you know me, that's to come in the next chapters. :P But for sure, this may be one that he may just lose a lot more than his coolness and leadership than in the original one. A test he'll have to go through, even without Elias being the mentor archetype before. And what will a little extra time before the events do to this story? That's another question to ask.

Also, be sure to remember small details you see. Remember them reeeal good. You might just get a surprise later on in the story. :D

Cya guys in the next chapter, which may take a while longer or so. Hope you enjoy and please review.

Edit: Changed some parts on the newspaper section.


	3. Three

**THREE**

If I had been told someone was going to die way before I found out about Kelly's premonitions, I would probably have laughed and said it wasn't a good joke.

The thing was when Kelly had a vision, it was always accurate.

She had seen every one of our battles in her dreams before meeting us. From beginning to end. Even before us being the Animorphs, she had seen the invasion in them too. And deaths were the hardest on her. This would the third time she had foreseen someone's death.

The first was Ax's brother.

And the second was a girl from our school. Roxanne. Kelly's best friend.

So hearing about Grandpa G dying, it really punched me. Hard.

"Better sit down." Kelly gestured me to her campfire and we sat down on the log. It had taken me longer to even budge to it. "I only got the dream last night. I was walking down a hall in an old man's wooden house. I wasn't sure if I was right but I saw you in a photo on a wall. I just assumed the old man was someone related to you. When I got to the kitchen..."

She trembled and angrily bit her lips. I knew she was trying to stop being afraid again.

"Kelly, it's ok," I assured her.

She sighed, trying to find her words. "...He was lying on the floor. I think he was making breakfast before he fell. He had his hand on his chest like...it hurt there."

"A...stroke?" I asked fearfully.

"Maybe... After that, everything seemed to fast forward around me. I saw him being taken away. Then more people came to the house. You were there too... I think your whole family went there."

A reason we'd be heading to the cabin. Only this time, it wasn't literally visiting Grandpa G. It was setting up his funeral.

But I felt like I was missing something important. It was there but I just couldn't grab it.

"Tom was there too. I saw...how angry he was to your dad. Or maybe it was the Yeerk... Jake, I even saw you protecting your dad."

There it was again. It was nudging at me, screaming for me to figure it out.

Moreover, why was Tom...or in this case, why would Tom be aggressive to Dad? Why would Dad need protection?

I didn't like this.

"It was like...Tom just didn't want to be there. And he would do anything to get out."

Sure, it was boring at the lake. Grandpa G's cabin was the only house on the lake. His closest neighbor was Mrs. Molloy and she lived seven miles away, halfway to town.

The only other building around was an old, abandoned hunting lodge across the lake.

No cable. No Taco Bell. No streetlights or crowds.

No movies. No malls...

No Sharing...

No Yeerks...

It got me thinking. How long would we have to stay there? Three days? More than that?

"I think I know why he was mad in the dream," I said. "A Yeerk feeds Kandrona rays. They can only survive without it for three days."

"Okay," Kelly said, trying to follow.

"The only place a Yeerk can feed is at a Yeerk pool. And you don't find them anywhere in isolated places like in the middle of the woods. I don't know how long we'll be away. But I do know that if we stay longer than three days, then the Yeerk in Tom's head would starve."

Yes. Starve, Yeerk. You'll starve there!

I felt myself smile. Maybe because I found hope. Or maybe not.

"If that's the case, then Tom can be saved."

I glanced at Kelly, expecting her to be as joyful as I was that we could be saving someone. My own brother.

Instead, she gave a pained expression. Unconvinced.

"I wish it was easy said than done," she grimly said and sank her shoulders.

I looked at her. Half puzzled. Half upset. Wondering why she said that.

But then I only just realized Kelly hadn't finished everything she said about the dream.

"I think in my dream...it got worse. Before I knew it, I saw Tom with a knife and I followed after him to a pier. It had a Nazi symbol. Tom, he really looked bloodthirsty. I tried to stop him...but I somehow fell into the water. Then I woke up." Kelly stared at the embers, disappointed. "I don't know what happened."

A Nazi knife? Where did he get that?

I was even more surprised that he'd attack.

No. The Yeerk would. Close to starvation. But to who? Dad? Mom? Me?

Easy said than done.

Maybe my family really would need the protection we could give them. If the Yeerk in Tom was willing to kill just so it could survive...

I bit my lip. I was anxious. I didn't expect the Yeerk to go that far and now I was faced with thinking of a plan to stop Tom in advance.

"...I'm sorry. I should have told everyone but...this was your family. I thought it was right that you heard it first," Kelly apologized.

Honestly? I was partly grateful she didn't tell me when the others were around. But partly wished she didn't at all.

The visions were really something. Reliable and yet unpredictable.

"No. I'm glad you told me. Is that everything you saw in the dream?"

"Yeah. But I might be wrong in the first place. I only guessed the place belonged to a relative of yours because of that photo."

I shook my head. "That might have the old dock at the lake. I know the place. So you're right."

She glowered. "Doesn't feel right. I just gave you the worst news ever."

I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You did good. Now that we know, we can stop the dream from happening."

"But not your great grandfather's death..."

I could easily read the guilt she carried. Still fresh from her best friend's funeral.

Kelly couldn't stop Roxanne's death from happening. Back then, she believed they were just dreams. Nothing more. And because of that, Kelly felt she was responsible for it when Roxanne died from a heart defect.

I knew that she was also going to feel responsible for Grandpa G's death.

"Kelly. I don't think we can stop old age," I told her.

"...I know. I know."

"It'll...it'll be alright." Yeah, right, I said to myself. It wouldn't be alright. Grandpa G was about to die. I tried to change the topic. "...How long do you think your visions take to become true?

"I don't know. When I got the vision about Roxanne's death, it was about two days before I told her... She passed away three days later."

I patted her on the back. It was hard of her to recall that and I had to give her credit for being brave.

"So five days usually. Give or take." I then became sad. "Which means that may be when Grandpa G would pass away."

"I'm sorry," she apologized again.

"Don't be."

"...So what should we do?"

"Well, we got a head start. But we don't know when my folks and I will be heading to the lake. We'll see how things will go once we tell the others about it. Later. Now is supposed to be your break."

"Okay," she said softly, got up and grabbed her jacket. "I know it's not in my place to say this and I don't know what you have for plans. But...don't go blind."

For a moment, I was surprised. Because it was something Elias would say to me.

Maybe Kelly saw right through me when I was smiling. After all, I was about to probably go one on one with Tom in maybe five days. No, the Yeerk was my target.

She may be new into the war business but Kelly had seen it every single night. Longer than we've been fighting. So you could say she had a foot in understanding what war could really do to a person. Only when she learned the truth behind them, she was inspired, determined, fueled to help us in any way possible.

I guess this was the famous consoling Kelly sometimes do.

Really an odd girl but you couldn't say no to her.

"Don't worry," I exclaimed. "It's going to be tough but I'll pull through. Trust me."

"I do. I trust you guys more than anything. But I know from...experience that sometimes, everything doesn't go alright."

Elias' death... Kelly was still slightly hung over it after all.

"And sometimes it does. So don't worry too much," I assured her. "We've stayed long enough here. The others might be wondering why the holdup."

"Yeah. Alright... Jake, before you decide anything, give your great grandpa a call," Kelly said. "Baxter and I don't have any grandparents. Mom's dad passed away long ago. And my dad doesn't talk much about his parents. All I had was Chogan."

Marco was right. Kelly would make a better consulter than the school's.

But I got why she'd say that.

I needed to give some kind of closure, I guess. To Grandpa G. And to me.

Who was Chogan by the way? He was a very old friend of Kelly's. A Native American who stumbled on finding Kelly alone in the woods in Vancouver nine years ago. He particularly took her under his wing for a while until he handed her to the rangers. And she really respected him a lot.

Yeah, she had one crazy childhood.

On top of that, only Kelly out of all us had spoken to Elias before she died.

It had to be painful, watching your other self die before you. Worse, you have no choice but to believe that's when and where you'll die before you once you're grown up.

But it did help her too. Gave her the closure she needed.

There had been so much I wanted to say to Elias. But that was after she died. Before, I didn't know what to say and I regretted not saying anything before it was too late.

It was the same now. I just learnt that Grandpa G was going to die.

"I don't know... What do I say? Can't tell him what you just told me."

"I know. Just...talk normal. That's what you can do for him."

"Normal... I can do that. I think."

Kelly smiled softly, slipping her hair under her cap and straightening her collar up to her cheeks. A quick transformation to 'another nameless kid'.

"Don't worry. You'll know what to do when you talk."

We walked to the barn and during that time, I tried to think of small topics to say to Grandpa G. Things I could tell him without sounding like a crazy lunatic. I could think of a few but...

Most of everything on my mind was about the invasion. About our power and Kelly's. About Elias and the supposed future. Things you just want to tell someone but you can't.

When we met up with the others, I told them to go ahead and flew back home. No one was there so I went for the phone.

It took me ten whole minutes to gather my courage and dial the number. I listened to the ringing while I mentally beat my brain to think of something before it would end.

What? What should I say?

Hi, Grandpa G. No, no. Nothing bad. Just, well, the reason for me calling you is because one of my friends predicted you were going to die and I wanted to talk before it's too late.

Too straightforward.

_Click!_

"Hello?"

I froze on the spot. I still haven't thought wisely.

"Hello?"

You'll know what to do when you talk.

Recalling that from Kelly, I took in a deep breath. "...Hey, Grandpa G."

"Jake. Hello, my boy. It's been a while. What's the occasion?"

"I...I wanted to give a call. See how you were doing."

He laughed on the other line. Softly. "That's rare. But that's very nice of you. Well, I'm still fit as a fiddle."

I narrowed my eyes unhappily. Not for long.

"The fishes have been sleeping in the lake as of late. Winter will do that to nature here. Other than that, just the same as always."

"I see."

"What about you, Jake? How are you doing?"

I was dumbfounded to answer back straight away. A simple question but the answers were too difficult.

Just start small, Jake. That's all you can do.

So we talked. Well. I talked. Grandpa G listened. Just small things. Very small things that weren't even at the top of my head. Nothing about the Yeerk invasion. Or the nightmares the six of us faced every time and those that Kelly saw every night. Or Grandpa G's upcoming fate.

He never interrupted me. He simply said, "Hm-hm" and "Oh, I see", paying close attention to everything I was saying.

This might have been the first conversation I had with him that was longer than just five minutes in years.

Once I ran out what to say, I told him, "That's pretty much it."

"The same old things." He chuckled. "Only different generations."

"Yeah... Same old things..."

"...Jake, is there something else?"

I gulped, having thought he had read between the lines.

"You sound tired."

Tired. Yeah. I had so much on my mind, added with a family death yet to come.

"It's alright. You can tell me anything, Jake."

That was it. I couldn't tell everything else. Even if he was about to die, telling him about the invasion was the last thing I wanted him to remember.

But...there was one thing.

"...A friend of mine...she...she passed away some days ago." I was blunt but it was half the truth.

"Was she close?"

"...I've only met her recently... But yeah. She was close," I told him. "Grandpa G, remember what you said to me that I had an old soul? I didn't know what you meant then but... Well...she had a much older one. I learned a lot of things from her... A lot of painful things she went through... She was brave too. Braver than me... I wanted to tell her a lot of things but..."

She was gone.

She wasn't coming back.

Elias appeared out of nowhere more than a week ago and helped us for only a short time. And already, she left a mark that would stay with us forever.

The good kind and the bad.

Had I really moved on? I wasn't sure anymore.

"Will you be going to her funeral?" Grandpa G asked.

"Um...I...don't know." How could there be one when there was no body?

"You should. Then you can tell her the things you want to say," he exclaimed calmly. "Remember the story I told you and Tom? The Battle of the Bulge? Well, I didn't tell you one small thing. That after that ended, I said the things I wanted to say to an old comrade of mine. And that was only after he too left."

It was a side of the story he didn't tell us before. A long time ago.

But from his tone, I could tell he had shared many memories with that friend. From the good, cheery and bullet-filled, gutsy moments on the battlefield to the last sad day.

"It's not always too late, Jake," he stated.

Not too late.

I gave it a thought. A funeral was something depressing. Seeing a dead person in the ground and realizing, they left before you.

But there was nothing of a funeral for Elias. We never thought of doing that after her body disappeared.

I wondered if after I would come back from the lake, after dealing with Tom and the vision, the others and I should find a nice spot in the woods and put a marker there. Sure, it wouldn't be her grave. But it would be proof.

To show Elias was present. She was there with us to her end.

And to speak everything we wanted to say to her.

"Yeah. I can do that. Thanks, Grandpa G."

"It's nothing, really. I'm glad to be of some help. You should tell me more about this friend of yours when you and your family visit here. I'd like to know her too."

"Yeah... I'll do that... Grandpa G." It was wrong for me to do this. But I had to try. "Could...could you visit a doctor? Sometime soon?"

He chuckled. "Now don't doubt me so easily, Jake. I still have a few years left." He waited, no doubt expecting me to join him but I didn't laugh. I didn't need to see from the other end that he was surprised. "...Well, if it makes you any better, I'll call my doctor tomorrow."

It wasn't much. It might not even save his life. But it was something.

"Okay. Thanks again."

"Of course. Now, I think you probably have other plans to do other than wasting time talking to an old man the whole afternoon."

"Yeah, I do. But I'm glad I talked to you."

"The same to you too. We can talk more next time. Your holiday starts soon, right?

"Yeah."

"Then I'll see you and everyone soon. You best remember to tell me about your friend."

"I will."

"Alright then. Goodbye, Jake."

"Bye, Grandpa G."

I hung the phone. That was it. Maybe my last farewell to him.

My lip trembled. I was almost coughing to cry. I really wished I could thank him more. But I was still satisfied to have talked to him.

Then I heard the door open and close outside.

And walking into the living room was Tom.

"Hey. What's with that look? You screwed up homework or something?"

I swallowed in. Brought out the role as the annoying little brother.

"Shut up. It isn't any of your business."

"Whatever." He headed to the kitchen. "Ain't going to help you out. Need to finish a paper today."

"Fine by me. I'm off." I eyed him until I couldn't see him anymore. I turned and darted out the door, my mind already buzzing at the possibilities.

Tom's Yeerk didn't know was coming for it. But I did.

It'd be trapped. It'd have no way out of it. Wouldn't know how to get out of the sudden turn of events. But I would. I have a head start to it.

An opportunity? Maybe. No. With Kelly's vision, it'd surely be one.

You're going to die, Yeerk.

* * *

Vickie: 3 chapters in 1 week. Hm. I would have spread these out more cuz of hoping for more reviews in between but I digress. It's only for the beginning since I've finalized my first few chapters.

Of course, I have to say, writing a COMPLETELY different story based on an already existing one with some additional elements from my megamorph, it's touch. Really. I've even rethought and reworked on one of my small ideas in this story. :) Which I found it better than my last. Brainstorming is the grand.

In all, I hope for two things. One; I'm giving you guys a new taste with how it can go differently. Two; I don't need to make this too repetitive on old parts for you guys who've read the original or need to include most of the old parts in case some of you haven't.

Anyway, next chapter may take a while so look out for it. And remember feedback is golden. Helps me improve the story. And your feedback is greatly appreciated!

Cya in the next chapter. Enjoy this chapter until then and please review! :D


	4. Four

**FOUR**

After the movie, we gathered at McDonalds for a grab to bite and of course, a need-to-know meeting. Kelly repeated everything she just told me once I gave her the ok.

And the others were just as surprised as I was.

"Grandpa G is going to die?" Rachel uttered.

"Seems that way."

She sunk back in her seat, blinking several times. "Geez... I'm sorry, Jake."

"It's ok." I sighed. "Won't be easy when I have to go to his funeral."

"Man, got to be tough to hear that from Oddball Kelly," Marco said, then turned to Kelly. "No offense."

"None taken. I really didn't like being the bearer of bad news."

Marco's been my friend since the sandbox. Plus, he'd lost his mom – complicated story – so he knew how I was feeling on the spot, especially when I've **yet** to lose Grandpa G.

"He was old, though, right? I mean he was in World War III."

"World War II, Marco. Two," I said.

"No, duh. We spent a really unpleasant afternoon in the middle of World War II, you may recall. Or at least some time-distorted version of World War II."

"I'm sorry?" Kelly uttered, half surprised to hear that.

"Long story there," I told her. "But yeah, he was in the war. The real war."

"So do we have any idea when this will happen?" Cassie asked.

"Five days, maybe. Don't know when exactly but all I know is that if me and my family will head up to Grandpa G's place."

"And that's means maybe more than three days. Not one day. Not two days. More than that," Marco said, connecting the dots. He glanced around and continued in a low, tense voice. "Without Kandrona rays?"

"We don't know yet."

"But it may just be that. Which means we may just have a problem. Kelly, you said Tom was going Rambo on someone, right?"

"I think so. But you don't think...you know...he would..." Kelly stopped and squeezed her arms. Cassie comforted her with a pat.

"I bet you he would. For the sake of living," Marco stated straightforwardly.

"You're thinking if push comes to shove after Grandpa G's death, Tom might do something drastic?" Rachel asked.

"Yup. Think about it. Who's the reason why you'll be heading up to the lake? Your great grandfather. Who's going to make the decision the whole family will have to go?"

I gulped. "My parents."

"Right. And you know what happens to family members who make things difficult for a who-know-you?"

Force them to become Controllers.

I was already having a sickening and spiralling feeling inside. Just seeing that coming true so that Tom's Yeerk could escape starvation.

But who? Mom? Dad? Both?

And I'd be coming home to a family of Yeerks?

"Hang on." Cassie broke the tension. "All this haven't happened yet. We don't really know if that will go that way."

"Y-Yeah," Kelly agreed. "Maybe it's not good to make assumptions. Jump ahead, I mean."

"Maybe. But after the things we went through, I don't think we can take the chance. And this time, we're alone," Marco pointed.

Yeah, alone again. Just like before.

No Elias to help us this time.

It was weird... One minute, Elias was there. Giving all the help and support she could. I had really thought that with her, we might be able to win this war. End it for good.

That was before I found out Elias was actually future Kelly...

No. Thinking that was terrible of me. Relying on Elias like she was our savior in everything was wrong. She had done everything she could and I wouldn't have asked for more.

Right now, we had to rely on us. Just like before. We had to be stronger.

"Alright. So what's the plan?" Tobias asked.

"That's the thing. We have none," Marco groaned. "We can't stop an old man from dying. And there's no reason now for Tom to go berserk."

"This sucks. Big time." Rachel folded her arms. "We can't do anything until the dream happens."

"This is a serious situation to consider," Ax added. "However, even I am unsure how we should approach this."

"Yeah. Tom won't do anything unless he's forced to," I said grimly.

"And until then, that's the only thing keeping your folks from a 'pool'," Marco said.

"So we just sit and do nothing until then?" Rachel uttered. "That's even worse than any plan."

Kelly sighed miserably. "I'm really not much help."

"Hey, don't sweat it. We've faced worse," Marco cheered as best as he could. "We'll just have to play the guessing game again and figure out how to solve this before it happens. We know he's going to use a knife on someone. We could always find it before he does. Simple."

"Do you even know where he'd find one? And a Nazi knife at that?" Rachel hissed.

"Maybe he got one from a knife store," Cassie said.

Kelly looked puzzled. "Wait, would anyone really sell a knife to a high school kid?"

"Well, not too sure if law on possessing weapons wouldn't apply to 'them' but then again, I'd be giving them too much credit," Marco admitted. "Would make too much noise too."

"I doubt a knife shop would sell one. If it was something from WWII, it would have been an antique," I said.

"You'd see those in a museum, not at a shop," Cassie added.

"Your grandpa was a soldier, right? Did he ever tell you he found a Nazi knife?" Marco asked.

"No, I don't think so. And he only told me about the war twice."

"Even if we'd find the knife, that still won't stop Tom from doing anything else," Rachel said. "We got nothing."

"In other words," Marco began. "We're struck."

"For now," I groaned. I really thought we could think of something. A plan that could fix this problem easily. I had my hopes too high. I know. But hearing a vision before the events, it had to give us an edge. Somehow.

"We could always do surveillance. Keep a close eye on your parents before and when it happens. If Tom makes a move, then we'll get ready for it," Tobias suggested.

"It may be our only best move to do," Ax said.

I relaxed. Just a bit. It wasn't the best plan. But it was all we have right now. "It's better than nothing. Since it's my family, I'll watch out closely. If anything bad happens, I'll holler out to you guys."

Marco frowned. Great, he didn't like something I said. "You're sure? You're pretty close to this."

"Because I'm family?" My tone was a little harsh, I admit. But I knew where he was going.

My best friend, who knows how to get from point A to point B and forget the consequences. And most times, he was right.

He opened his mouth for a sec and then realized something and stopped, looking at Kelly.

Marco was remembering. Elias' lecture she gave us.

He recollected himself. "I half agree with you being the inside lookout. I think Tobias should be the outside lookout too. Give you backup. But the moment it gets too much for you, you have to step back."

It wasn't much too. Partly the same reasoning Marco would give but he wasn't fixated on just the straight line.

I was alright with that. But later, would I still be? "Alright."

"But man, this whole premonition thing is hard. We're trying to ram our heads together on a future event. Hey, Kelly. How about a cat nap to give us more clues?"

"I don't think it's that easy for me," Kelly admitted. "Every dream I have aren't the same. But I can give it a shoot. See what else I can find."

"Good. We'll help you. Warm cup of milk. Hot bath. Whatever it takes to get you to sleep."

Kelly looked uneasy. "You know, before, I didn't want to see the dreams. Never thought I'd be forced to."

"You're the oracle here, Oddball. I'd gladly have those dreams. Who knows, I could ace my tests easily."

"Uh-huh. I've never seen a test paper in my dreams before. And I don't like cheating."

"We're not going to force Kelly to sleep," I said. "Whatever she gives us is what we get. We can't expect more."

"But Elias had her premonitions like instantly, right? Some evolved version?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah. And that there could be others with Kelly's dreams."

"Others?" Kelly spoke, her face lightened up at the thought.

"That's what Elias told us. But she didn't tell us who."

"If they're like hers, I think they may be having it just as hard as Kelly is," Cassie said worriedly.

"Or just pretending like they're not real. I did too," Kelly said. "You think I'll get this 'evolved' premonitions later? When I'm older."

"It's possible," I said.

Kelly sighed. "I kinda wish I have them now."

"For now, we do with what we have," I said. "And I don't think you can predict everything too."

"Why say that?"

"I'm not questioning your ability, Kelly. But it might be that we can't rely solely on your dreams all the time. Which brings us to another issue. Anyone read the newspaper today?"

"About that famous woman? It's the talk of the town," Rachel pointed.

"What about?" Kelly asked. She'd not have papers delivered to her campsite anyway.

"A CEO of a company died some time ago," I told her.

"And I'm guessing you saw what I saw too," Marco said. "A familiar name?"

I nodded. "The Sharing."

"Which means the woman and her friend are also you-know-what. What's his name again?"

"Eustis. He's some rich investor. Qutirk Investments, I believe," Rachel pointed.

"Qutirk?" Ax uttered.

"Let me guess. It's also not a you-know-what polite word, right?" I asked. I still remembered the Daspen Logging Company.

"Yes it's an...insult. But to themselves actually. Qutirk is equivalent to the human term, 'blackmailer'."

"Fitting. They still have that sense of humor," Marco uttered. "Now the question remains: why a will? If he's best friends with this DaSvan lady, he wouldn't need to fight over it."

"Do you think maybe they aren't friends? We had run-ins before with you-know-whats having quarrels," Cassie said.

"So DaSvan and the Sharing had a falling out then," Rachel pointed.

"Maybe. Maybe not. There's also this butler. Arthur," I said.

"Quite right, Watson." Marco then tried to imitate as a detective. Badly. "With the facts together, it is absolutely certain that the butler may be after the lady's wealth."

"Is that it really?" Rachel asked. "I've never heard of a butler becoming a lawyer before. And he's fighting against this investor over not revealing the full release."

"Maybe there's something DaSvan hid in that will. Whatever it is, Mr. Arthur's trying to protect it," I exclaimed.

"Or it's a fake will the butler documented." Marco then smiled. "You know, for the fact this probably has something to do with you-know-what, this is turning out to be a good mystery behind it. Of course, would be more fun without the event coming."

"Whatever the case may be, the fact is they're after her will. We'll have to contact Erek to find out more for us. If it's nothing serious, then we can leave it alone."

"I get it," Kelly said, back to our previous topic. "I only see certain things in bits and pieces. Anything else, I wouldn't know what happens. Also about this will even."

"Yeah, we can't let our guard down even when you haven't predicted another event. We could have one mission that is to stop them and another that's saving a person."

"More possible things to look forward to the weekends. Swell," Marco droned with distaste.

"So what do we do now there? Seems like we're just gonna wait." Rachel sighed miserably.

"That's pretty much it. As much as I dislike it, until something big happens, we just have to go on normally," I replied. "But that doesn't mean we turn a blind eye."

"In the meantime, how about coming up with new _Talith_ morphs, Kelly?" Marco asked with a smirk.

Kelly scowled lightly, then folded her arms. "Alright then. Since you want a new _Talith_ morph, then you'll have to help."

"Come again?"

"You can start by lending me some materials. I'm running out of pencils and paper. And this time, I can't go to art class anymore. So you'll have to find out what assignments Ms LeBlanc is giving out."

"You got to be kidding me. I don't even take art."

"And I can't go to school. But you **are** so eager on getting a new _Talith_."

"She got you there," Rachel sneered.

"And also, you have to go through her entire classes. Oh, and bring in a recorder to record her lectures. Then maybe with some thinking and learning, I can make a newone," Kelly stated.

"What's this? Hoops to jump through?" Marco whined.

"I just want you to appreciate how hardworking it is doing art." Kelly smiled. Not a wicked one but she was clever.

"Ok, it's official. You've changed. That actually scares me."

"That's good. For now, you will be patient. You guys haven't tried the ones I made, right?"

"Not yet but can you blame us? Thanks to that prank that caused the school to close down last week, they're doubling our homework this week and giving make-up classes," Cassie said.

"Should have been the prankster who should suffer, not us," Marco hissed.

Just as we've been acquiring DNA from many animals to morph into for two years, Kelly has created powerful _Taliths_ from our morphs. In two years too and all because of an art assignment she did. The best part about this is we can morph into _Taliths_ too.

And Marco also bestowed the name, Alteramorphs on our altered morphs.

But just like morphing, the calling also has its own rules. Elias had explained them to us. We can't pick any _Talith_. **They** have to pick us. One _Talith_ per morpher. A defence mechanism to be exact.

Kelly made six _Taliths_: a chimera named Oro, an eight-legged lizard with blades named Auryn, a quick and strong huge bear with long claws named Ursa, a floating shielded whale named Paikea, a four-winged thunderbird named Pajackok and a lobster-Andalite hybrid monster named Cherion.

Oro is my morph. I've not tried him out yet but when I saw him after Kelly called him forth, he was awesome.

Like a king of myths. From outer space.

Tobias took a quick sip of his drink. "Well, you four haven't. Me and Ax tried ours already. Kelly's our witness."

"And was it just as revolting as morphing into a cockroach?" Marco asked with a hum.

Tobias glared. "Not gonna let you get me. You're not going to put a rain on my parade over this."

"Tobias was extremely enthusiastic when he was in his _Talith_ morph this morning," Ax explained.

Kelly giggled. "Yeah, he was in the sky rocketing everywhere. He wouldn't come down for almost an hour."

"It was so cool though. I've never flown at super speed before!" Tobias was like a little kid with his brand new airplane. "Can't wait to test out the turbulences."

"We really should try out our new morphs. But we still have the vision to worry about. And homework. Since we know it may be five days before it happens – give or take," I strengthened the last part in a tone. "We could try them out after tomorrow."

"Gaaaah," Marco groaned. "Do we have to?"

"Marco, you're going to embrace your _Talith_. Whether you like it or not," Rachel hummed.

"Fine. First a stupid letter, the vision, and now talking about _Taliths_."

"Letter?" I repeated. "What letter?"

He pulled out a torn envelope from his back pocket. "This one. My dad said it came in the mail."

"Wait, you too?" the girls said in union.

Once they said that, their eyes bugged out and they looked at each other. Even Tobias and Ax too.

"Wait...does that mean, we all have letters?" I asked.

Everyone else shuffled through their coats and pockets. Laying out the same similar card I had that morning onto the table. So did I.

All of them were the same. No return address. Nothing written inside. The only thing was our names with our addresses written in a crisp and fashionable handwriting.

And when I meant addresses, I really meant it. Kelly, Tobias and Ax also had theirs somehow delivered exactly to their place. The scoop, Kelly's campsite and Tobias' tree.

"Ok, this is freaky," Marco uttered.

"Did you get yours this morning?" I asked.

"Yeah. Mine was also in the mail," Rachel replied.

"So was mine," Cassie added.

"I found mine on my tent. I was about to ask you guys if anyone of you gave this to me."

"My message was placed in front of my scoop."

"And mine was in the branches where I was sleeping."

"And no one saw who gave these letters?"

Everyone shook their heads. And that made us more uneasy. Whoever sent these letters did it without us noticing.

Tobias' keen hawk sense and Ax would have noticed. But this guy, he slipped right under their noses.

"Couldn't be the mailman. Who the heck would go all the way to the woods?" Rachel asked. She picked up one of the envelope. "And the handwriting couldn't be from any average Joe."

"But they delivered it to us. All seven of us," Cassie pointed.

"Maybe this is a message. That someone 'knows'," Marco said cautiously. "No coincidence that some guy just became pen pals to Bird Boy, Ax and Oddball."

"Then do you think they...?"

"No way. If they knew, they'd already have us by now. And why the trouble of sending us these blank letters? Might as well come up to us face to face."

"So if it's not you-know-whats," Rachel began. "Then who?"

"Let's see. Us six. Our new member, Kelly. The Chee. The Hork-Bajir colony. The you-know-what Peace Movement. Oh, Ellimist and Crayak. Did I forget anyone else?"

"Elias," Kelly added. "Elias knew, right?"

"And so did David," Rachel hissed. Her frown disappeared quickly as she gave it some thought. "What if it could be a friend of either Elias or David?"

"If it's the latter, that's more enough reason to worry about. We don't even know if David also did some changes like Elias did," I said.

"There was that other voice before," Rachel said. "The one who contacted Elias back in the barn."

"Could be. But we don't even know who that person was," Marco said.

What we were talking about was that before Elias died, someone had sent a message to her. Like speaking through phones but in thought-speech.

Sadly, the guy on the other line already expected Elias was dead. He couldn't hear us beg him to help. Just gave a final speech to Elias. That he was glad to have worked with her to the end.

Elias never told us his name.

"Ok. So we have a funeral, my brother going axe-crazy, the you-know-whats after a will and a mysterious sender that may or may not be friendly." I looked down at my fingers. Four. I slouched down, head on table and muttered, "Anything else I missed?"

"That we have more school time than before this week?" Marco droned.

Five.

"I guess I'll go visit Erek today." Marco picked up all seven letters and stacked them together. "Maybe he can figure out who our mysterious sender is."

"Seeing how our week's going to be packed, I think I'll go finish up my homework today. One last thing to worry about," Cassie admitted. "Tomorrow, my parents and I will be at an animal rescue seminar too."

Rachel sighed. "Yeah. Mind if I tag along? The composition homework is killing me."

"How about a study group?" Kelly asked. "I could help out as much as I can. It'll be faster. And fun."

Cassie smiled. "Sure. That would be great."

"What about you two?"

"And listen to three girls chattering about stuff? Nope," Marco uttered. "And you're looking at a genius. There's no homework that can stop me."

"Yeah, until the very last minute," Rachel murmured.

"Jake?" Kelly called. "Want to study too?"

I could tell this was her way of helping out the team. And a way that made her feel like she was back at school again. I knew her intention was good and I give her merit for that.

But with all the things on my mind, I decided no.

"I think I'll pass today. You know. Got some thinking to do."

"I understand." She didn't push and she was sincere. "Oh, right. Rachel, be sure to lock your locker."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"I don't know. I also saw you in the dream too. You were rushing with something and shoving bags into a locker. But you forgot to lock it."

"I did? I mean, I will? At the lake?"

"Don't think so. There were lots of people where I saw you."

"Sounds like school. Looks like you're fated to be late at school, Xena."

Rachel stomped on Marco's foot after the first two laughs.

And with that, we left the outlet and went our separate ways.

The next day, same routine. Fourth day waking up early. Well, it was a little better. Slept another hour more.

Just another day, I thought.

Same as always. Went to school, listened to more boring lectures and waited until the bell rang. Out the front doors I went and walked alone.

I came around the corner. Home.

It was there I saw a taxi parked out in front of my house.

Why was there a cab? Nobody around here took cabs.

Everybody had cars.

I glanced over to my house. Second floor. Through the window, my mother was carrying clothes about and dumping them into something.

From the way she was going about, I could tell.

I mean, I've seen my mom sniffle at Save the Children infomercials and Hallmark cards but I can't remember the last time I ever saw her really cry.

But she was crying now.

I swallowed. I thought the world just stopped for a moment. Like a daily Twilight Zone episode.

I think I understood just how Kelly must have felt. The moment she feared would come and it did.

Too soon. Much too soon.

Because I knew...this was it.

I jogged into the house.

"Mom! What happened?"

* * *

Vickie: ...I managed to finish the fourth chapter the same week. Four chapters in one week... Excuse me for a sec. –leaves her seat-

...

..

.

_What the heck! ? I took three frigging years working on the megamorph and now I'm zooming fast on my next book! ? OK, it's based on the Conspiracy but COME ON! I'm not even slapping in huge sections from the original book! WHY IS MY MIND ON OVERDRIVE NOW! ? ARRRRRGH! ! !_

.

..

..

-comes back- ...So where was I? :)

I know that at one point, a writer's block will come. I just know it. I mean, after next Monday…I need to look for work anyway. :P

Anyway, sorry if this chapter looks like just more talking than action. But I promise and hopefully I do it right, there'll be some tension in the next chapter.

SO I'll see you again then. Thank you so much for the reviews and feedback. It means a lot to me. Hope you all enjoy this chapter! R'n'R and thank you!


	5. Five

**FIVE**

I was still registering what just happened. The emotions were still whirling around in my head while a voice in me was telling me to get a grip, to have expected this to come.

It didn't go exactly what I had expected. But it still shook me to the core.

Grandpa G was in the hospital.

He wasn't dead. But his condition was 'critical'.

True to his word, Grandpa G gave a phone call to his doctor that morning. His doctor drove over to his house at noon and found him on the floor and quickly saved him.

Mom said that it was a miracle that his doctor was there. If he hadn't...well, you know the story.

Mom was already out the door with her suitcase after she gave the news. Left a note on the fridge. Told me everything would be fine. She'd let us know if Grandpa G would pull through once she got there. Said she gotta go, honey.

I watched as the cab disappeared around the corner.

And that was it.

I headed into the house. Checked the scrawled note stuck under an apple magnet on the fridge.

Grandpa G was in the hospital.

He was alive.

His housekeeper, Mrs. Molloy, was the one who told Mom the news. According to her, who'd talked to the doctor, his heart had just stopped while he was putting jelly on a slice of toast. Hadn't even gotten a chance to eat it.

I shivered. And I was also relieved.

It was because of me that he was alive. Because I called him yesterday and asked him to see a doctor.

I saved him. I saved Grandpa G.

Didn't know for how long. Like I had said to Kelly, we couldn't stop old age. I was probably just delaying it.

But it was stopping my family from getting smaller.

That was all that mattered.

I saved Grandpa G.

The kitchen door burst open. Tom stormed into the room.

"And I'm telling you, Dad, I can't go!" he snapped, tossing his books onto the table and scowling at me. "What're you looking at?"

"You're home early," I said, surprised.

My father plodded in, weary, harassed, and closed the door behind him.

"So are you," I said, glancing from him to Tom. "Did Mom tell you guys about Grandpa G?"

"Yes," my father said. "I was hoping to get here in time to take her to the airport but the traffic was terrible. I saw Tom walking home and picked him up."

"Did you know we're supposed to go see Grandpa G?" Tom demanded.

I nearly froze on the spot.

What?

Go see Grandpa G?

I tried to stay calm. See where this was going.

"I didn't know that," I said cautiously. "Mom said she'd let us know if anything happens."

"I know but at a time like this, everyone should go see how he's doing. But Tom here tells me he doesn't want to leave his friends to see his grandfather," my father said, looking at Tom, now me. "However, he doesn't have a choice. We're going. All of us."

I bit the inside of my mouth.

Did...I just make it worse?

"When?" I forced it out of me.

"We'll be driving up Saturday morning."

Four days from now.

I was feeling petrified.

"Dad, I feel bad about Grandpa G too but I can't," Tom insisted. "The Sharing's expecting me to help out this weekend. I gave them my word!"

"Well, you'll just have to explain that something more important came up," my father said. "I thought The Sharing was about promoting family values, right? Well, we're going to visit Grandpa G as a family."

"Dad, you don't understand!" Tom argued desperately.

The Yeerk was desperate. He knew where this was going.

Starvation.

"Hey, Dad," I said, hoping to hide my uneasiness. "How long are we staying?"

"I'm not sure. It depends. Maybe two or three days. In any case, I'll write notes so you'll be excused from school through Tuesday of next week-"

"What! ?" Tom's eyes bulged in shock. "Tuesday? Dad, no way! Four days? I can't stay away for four days!"

It was like saving Grandpa G's life did nothing.

"You can and you will," my father said, losing his patience. "We're going as a family and that's final."

Tom's throat worked. His hands clenched into fists.

And for one brief second I had the crazy thought that he was going to attack my father.

Even though I couldn't morph in front of them, I could feel the surge of adrenaline that comes right before a fight.

Yes. The Yeerk would attack.

I now knew why Kelly said, "Easy said than done."

I would've been so glad. Screaming in my head, starve, Yeerk, starve! Die in agony, die screaming, Yeerk!

Your cover will fall apart. Maybe you'll have to choose between keeping Tom and keeping your filthy life.

But I didn't.

I would have, if Kelly hadn't told me the dream. Now...all I was thinking was that the dream was going to happen, whether I liked it or not.

I had to step in. Any longer and Tom would really lunge at Dad.

"It won't be that bad, Tom," I heard myself pipe up. "The lake's nice, remember?"

It broke the stalemate.

Tom looked at me. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

He was playing his role as condescending big brother. I was playing my role, too. On the defence.

"Shut up," I said. "I'm not the one who's being a big baby about leaving."

I said it to annoy him and to bring us back to the rhythm we knew, the kind of normal sniping I could handle.

Because the hatred in Tom's eyes when he'd looked at my father had scared me.

And the hatred that had flared up in me, the hatred of the Yeerk, the sick thrill of anticipating its pain, had scared me, too.

The hatred Kelly told me she saw in her dream.

"That's because you have no life," Tom sneered.

"Oh, right, and you do?" I shot back.

"More than you'll ever know," he said darkly, distracted now.

"Enough," my father said. "I'm going to change. When I get back we'll order pizza. How does that sound?"

"I'm not hungry," Tom muttered, staring at the floor.

I wasn't either but my father was looking at me expectantly, so I said, "Pizza. I'm there."

My father nodded, satisfied, and left.

I gave my brother a look of sympathy, making peace. "Maybe you can get out of it, some way."

"Shut up," Tom said absentmindedly. The Yeerk had no use for me, no interest in me. I was dismissed. Irrelevant.

His interest was on my father. From this point on, Dad would be the target.

And I've never felt so terrified in my entire life.

I stepped out the house.

Tobias had to be around. We'd just said he'd be the outside lookout.

(_Jake!_)

I searched about. Saw him in the tree in my backyard.

I looked back. Making sure no one was around.

Leaned against it. Pretended I was dealing with the whole 'dying relative' situation. But still kept my eyes on alert.

(_I just saw your dad and brother head in... Did...did it happen?_)

I shook my head. And in a whisper, "Grandpa G's in the hospital."

(_Oh. That's good then._)

"Yeah... Only we're still going. To the town Grandpa G lives nearby."

Tobias arched up his head. (_Then Tom's-_)

I nodded. "You've heard from the others yet?"

(_No. I've been here the whole day._)

What I would give to find out if Kelly got another dream that day. Anything to tell me what else would happen.

Because I just changed something and it remained the same. Partly.

(_You think Kelly dreamed something else?_)

"If she said she has dreams every night, then maybe. See what she saw last night."

(_I don't think that's a good idea._)

"It's ok." I breathed in deeply. "We're just going to have dinner tonight. I'll keep my eye on them and you should be back before you know it."

(_You sure?_)

"Yeah. I got this."

Tobias was reluctant to go after a minute. (_Ok._)

"And bring Marco along."

I had wanted Tobias to bring Cassie instead. But she mentioned that she and her parents, both vets, were at some animal rescue seminar until later.

Too bad, too, because she was the one I really wanted to talk to.

Out of all of us, Cassie's the one who really understands the more complicated things: motives, emotions, right and wrong.

But Cassie sees beneath the surface. I'm no genius, but I knew I was too close to this to see clearly.

So my other choice was Marco. Better, anyway. I also needed to know if he had found out anything about the letters and the famous lady in the news. Hadn't seen him that day.

I went back in. Waited for supper. And it was awful.

Tom tried everything to get out of going.

He begged. Pleaded. Complained. Sulked.

He even tried reasoning.

My father didn't budge.

I finished supper. Helped my father out with the dishes. Talked with him about how we were dealing with this. Talked about Grandpa G.

And keeping a watchful eye on Tom.

Time was itching on. Where were Marco and Tobias?

If Kelly and Marco were right, Tom would be plotting something. Finding a quick way to get my father to change his mind. After that look Tom gave to my father, I was sure of it.

The black hatred he had.

No, not Tom. The Yeerk inside of him. Controlling him.

Tom's hands, doubled into fists.

Poised to leap at my father.

But nothing yet.

Maybe with me around, it might make things difficult for Tom. But that wasn't going to stop him.

"Don't you have homework to do?" Tom nagged at me.

Trying to get me out of the living room.

"I can do them tomorrow."

"I don't think so." Dad came into the room. "You should finish them before we go see Grandpa G."

I cringed inside.

"But-"

"Now Jake. I know it's rough now. But you shouldn't leave school work aside. Think of this as keeping your mind off Grandpa G for a while."

I was struck. Tom managed to get me out without even trying. And with no one to back me up. If I pressed on the matter, my father would keep on persisting and Tom could get suspicious.

Damn that prankster from school.

"Alright," I said bitterly.

I was slow. But walked up the stairway. Until I was out of their sight, I then bolted into the bathroom.

I was alone now. No way to contact the others. I had to keep watch. I had to protect my father. I had to do it without being seen by Tom.

So I focused on the roach.

Not my favorite morph. Not anyone's favorite morph. But I needed to be small, fast, and survivable. Maybe a fly would have been better but I'd had a close call as a fly once: Someone swatted me and smeared me all over the storage rack on a plane.

Roaches are harder to kill.

I felt the changes begin. So creepy at the best of times. But standing there in my bathroom, shrinking as the sink grew, shrivelling down toward the tile floor you'd dirtied after jumping into mud when you were four, falling into the shadow of the tub where you always have your bath in...that added a level of weird.

I caught the unexpected sight of myself in the cabinet mirror. The skin of my face was turning brown, glossy, hard.

I looked away.

You don't want to see yourself turning into a cockroach. You don't want to see the way your mouth divides into insect mouth-parts. You don't want to watch your skin melt like wax under a blowtorch and then re-form into a hard, stiff armor. You don't want to be making eye contact with yourself when your eyes stop being eyes and become expressionless black pin-heads.

Maybe you'd think we'd all be used to it. Speaking for myself, at least, no. I'll never be used to it.

Morphing may be a great weapon. It is also a horror beyond imagining.

My bones dissolved. There was a liquid, squishing sound.

A pair of twitching, hairy, jointed roach legs exploded from my swollen insect body like a scene out of an Alien movie. I was expecting that. They matched what my arms and legs had become.

Long, feathery antennae sprouted from my forehead.

Crisp, glossy wings cupped my back.

My vision was extremely limited. But my antennae made up for some of that loss. You couldn't call what they did hearing or smell, exactly. More like some weird melding of the two. And yet, not like either.

I was a roach. I turned like a tiny tank and motored beneath the door. Climbed down the stairs' railing to the first floor.

_Whoooom. Whoooom. _

My dad's footsteps. And Tom's. Vibration and breeze. My antennae fixed their location. I fought down the roach brain's desire to run.

_Whoooom. Whoooom. _

Feet the size of an aircraft carrier floated past in the dim distance. No problem. I had roach senses and roach speed married to human intelligence. I was safe.

I reached my destination. Under the counter in the kitchen. Listening in. Watching my father and Tom together.

"I don't see why I have to go," I heard Dad say.

"Dad, please, just come. I can't just tell them why I can't be there this weekend. They're counting on me to be there for the event. Even Mr. Eustis will be at the event. That's why this is huge."

The investor from the news.

Dad didn't budge.

Please, oh, please. Dad.

Tom didn't give up. "Look. Just fifteen minutes. If you come and explain to them, then they'll excuse me. I won't look like a total jerk to them."

Dad gave it some thought.

Say no. Don't go where I think you're going.

"Alright. Alright. Fifteen minutes there."

Oh, god.

Tom was taking my father to The Sharing.

But not so he could be excused from his obligations.

In fifteen minutes, he was going to make our father a Controller. He would watch as they forced him to his knees and pushed his head down into the thick, sludgy Yeerk pool. He would listen to his pleas. Listen to his cries. His screams of horror and disbelief and panic. Listen and laugh.

No.

I started to shake.

I should have known. Should have seen it sooner. I shouldn't have left them alone!

"Give me a minute to let Jake know where we're going."

"Just leave a note. He's got work, right? Don't want to disturb him."

"Hm, true. With Grandpa G's condition and school, he has lots on his mind."

More than you think, I wanted to say. More than you know think.

My father jolted down his message on a note and stuck it on the fridge.

The last message I'd ever get from him. The last words I'd read that wasn't from a Yeerk.

Dad walked out to get his keys and coat.

Tom glanced at the fridge.

He snatched Dad's note off.

"Don't need this anymore." Tom ripped off another note, tacked beneath the apple magnet.

The one with the flight number Mom wrote on.

He threw the notes into the rubbish can. Crumpled it. To cover his tracks.

No. I wouldn't let that happen.

Just as he strolled out, his feet banging on the floor like the aircraft carrier just within eye distance, I scampered. Up his sneaker and onto the legging of his pants.

I held on. I wasn't going to let go. To let Tom take Dad away.

But what plan did I have? I was going solo. If I was thinking straight, I'd be getting the others to help me out.

I know I wasn't. All I could think of was making sure my father wasn't going to be a Controller.

No. Don't go in blind. Kelly's words kept on repeating.

I stayed hidden. Waited until we were in the car. Maybe twenty minutes until I felt the car stop. And everyone got out.

I looked at my surroundings. Few people around but there were four stores. Full parking lot. Must be a mini-mall.

A Starbucks. A knife shop. Closed. Dark. Computer Renaissance. Open. Bright. A possibility. An antique store. Lights on. Half shades drawn up. Two men walking in past a sign that said closed.

One of them being a Sharing meeting.

"Excuse me." A man bumped into Tom to his car.

And a great aftershock of a tank's fire knocked me right off.

No! No! No!

The world spun. What was up and where was down! ? I couldn't tell!

I crashed onto the ground. Sure, the cockroach was resilient. But on your back was a painful situation to be in.

Seconds ticked on.

NO! NO! NO!

I struggled, flipping myself back on my feet. I had to keep my eye on Tom and Dad. His life depended on me!

I went cold once I realized I lost them.

I fearfully rifled around.

Where? Where did they go! ? Into one of the shops? Which one! ?

_Whoooom. Whoooom. _

I heard the footsteps. But it wasn't Dad or Tom. It was much closer.

I dove away, missing the high heels of a woman who just arrived in the mini-mall. I soon found myself around the back where a dumpster was.

I quickly demorphed. But how to do it? Attack? And how to get my dad out? What morph, what creature?

My feet sprouted first, pink and bare and huge.

My eyes straddled my bulging, human nose, which had split away from my shrinking insect mouth.

I shot upward as my legs thickened and grew.

Hair. Fingers.

My insides gurgled and sloshed sickeningly.

I was fully human. Standing with bare feet on gravel and crumpled cans and scruffy weeds.

Dad had to have gone in one of those stores. I had to do something!

(_Jake!_)

I glanced around, seeing an osprey landing on an overturned crate.

I felt relieved in an instant. But it was short-lived.

"Marco? How did you-"

(_Find you? Wasn't easy. Saw the notes in your trash once I knew you and your family weren't home. Thanks to Erek and Kelly's recent dream, we were able to pinpoint where you lot had gone. Tobias went to get Rachel. But are you crazy? You should have told us!_)

"No time. Tom took Dad to the Sharing. I had to follow."

I was ready to step out from the back.

Until Marco jumped in front of me, demorphing.

"What? WHAT?"

(_You're the boss, Jake. You're the fearless leader. But not right now, okay? You're too messed up over this. Let me call the plays._)

I knew he was right. I said nothing. I hated Marco right then. Hated him because he wouldn't have made the mistake I'd made. He would have seen...

Hated him because he'd already lost his mother and he knew what the inside of my head was like, because he knew I was scared and just wanted to cry.

But I was exploding inside of me.

I couldn't stop shaking.

Couldn't get control.

"He's in there with the Yeerks!"

(_Jake, they just went in like what? A minute ago?_) Marco asked and didn't give me time to reply. (_If you go looking for him and then the meeting gets broken up by us, don't you think the Yeeks'll put two and two together?_)

"I don't care," I said before I could stop myself.

The sympathy in Marco's tone evaporated. (_You're not getting me killed to save your father!_)

"Fine, then," I snapped. And began to morph. "I'll do this alone."

I felt the powerful, tiger DNA stirring in my pulsing blood.

Sharp, gleaming fangs sprouted in my mouth. Claws that could disembowel a bull grew from my fingertips.

(_No!_) Marco hollered. (_Elias isn't around anymore. We can't go storming in like the marines, Jake! It's too obvious._)

I was still more human than tiger. The yellow saber sharp teeth made speech clumsy. "I'm koink in!"

(_Jake, I will have to try and stop you,_) Marco said.

We stared at each other for a long, tense moment. A half tiger and a half osprey.

(_Kelly told me to stop you._)

I tightened my grip. Yeah, she would.

(_She said, don't go in blind._)

Then I relaxed.

Those words that she said yesterday. The kind of words Elias would say to me.

And I'd forgotten them so quickly.

I was about to go in blindly. Madly.

Marco became fully human. I stopped my morph.

"Look," Marco said finally, quietly. "I know you're freaked but if we make this a rescue mission, we're all dead. All of us. Everyone. The Yeerks aren't idiots. They go after your dad and suddenly the Animorphs attack a minor meeting? They can add two plus two, Jake. You let the Yeerks know who you are, Jake, how is that gonna help your father?"

He was right. I knew it but I didn't want to hear it.

"We have to create a distraction. Mess up the meeting but not let them know why," Marco said, as thick, coarse hair began sprouting from his bulging, growing body. "We're gonna buy some time and I've got it all planned. Do your falcon morph. Your eyes will be better than mine."

"But-" I said.

"No buts, Jake," he said. "You know me. You know I've worked it out."

I hesitated, frustrated and not used to being the one taking orders, but I couldn't deny that he was right.

I was losing my clear thinking and that was dangerous.

Surrendering, I concentrated on the falcon morph. Undergoing the kind of mutation Marco was going. Only different.

I focused my mind on one of the double-helix strands of DNA that swim in my blood.

When I opened my eyes, I was falling. Shrinking. And no matter how many times it had happened before, it still made my stomach lurch.

Smaller and smaller, with the floor racing up to slap me, falling like I'd jumped off a skyscraper.

My skin turned gray and white, mottled. Across the dead gray flesh the Etch-A-Sketch lines of feathers were drawn. An eerie design that suddenly was no drawing but three-dimensional reality.

My eyes slid apart, around my head. Eyes that could read a dictionary from a block away. Raptor eyes. Falcon eyes.

My legs shrivelled, becoming mere sticks. My fingers extended out, bare hollow bone that was quickly covered by feathers. Tail feathers erupted from my behind, down my chest, down my back and stomach.

My talons sprouted, grew curved and sharp.

Marco finished his massive, muscled gorilla morph and waited, standing guard until I was done.

(_Okay,_) I said. (_Tick tock, Marco._)

(_Well, Rachel's not here so I guess it's up to me. Let's do it,_) Marco said. (_And Jake?_)

(_What! ?_) I snapped.

I expected him to say, "Don't do anything stupid."

(_You're not alone, man,_) Marco said.

* * *

Vickie: I'm a little disappointed with this one cuz I was really set on rewriting the old parts. But with Applegate's good writing...I just couldn't think of how differently I wanted it to go. :/ I failed. Miserably. Just slapped some chunks but rewrote few sections.

Even the morphing parts were too hard. I mean, sure, I could do so on original morphs but when you already have the kind you read from the books? I couldn't think of better descriptions on morphing a cockroach or a falcon than the books.

I'm still not sure how to change so please don't be mad at me for copying parts. If you guys want, I'll rewrite the sections differently but I'd need some help how to do them so please help me out if you can. If you guys think I don't need to, I'll leave it alone. For now. I'd probably headbutt myself and come up with a different way of writing the same thing.

I will say this. Disclaimer, Animorphs belongs to Applegate. I do not owe them. So the sections I copied belong to the book. Even if this story is taking a different direction, not declaring it's mine (well half and what's original in this series).

In all, looks like we have our first situation for Jake. How he and his friends are going to do with this?

Meh. I'll leave you to guess if the next event is gonna be like that in the book or something different. Cya next chapter! Hope you guys enjoy this (or partly). R'n'R!


	6. Six

**SIX**

Marco stepped out into the parking lot. I flew, watching from above.

My father and my brother were close by. One predator, the other prey. Both, in different ways, in mortal danger.

And if they were to be saved, it was up to Marco. Not me.

It's funny about gorillas. They're gentle creatures by nature. They don't give you the fear chills you get from the big cats or the bears. Mostly when you see them, they're zoned out in some zoo cage.

But they are a whole different animal when they're moving. You see a big gorilla moving fast and you get a sense of just how much power you're looking at.

Humanlike? Yes. But like a human who's been built at the Mack truck factory.

Marco walked over to a car.

Grunting, he lifted it up by the rear bumper. Lifted it clear off the ground, back wheels not touching.

And dropped it.

_WOOOEEEE! WOOOEEE! WOOOEEE!_

I almost laughed. Car alarm!

Marco went to another car. He lifted it. Dropped it. And another. Lift. Drop.

_WEEEEYOOOOP! WEEEEYOOOOP! WEEEEY-OOOOP!_

_HONK! HONK! HONK! HONK!_

_WaaaaAAAAAAaaaaaAAAAAAaaaaaAAAAA!_

The night was filled with clanging, screaming, whooping car alarms.

And then a very familiar car. One we both knew.

Chapman's car. Chapman, our assistant principal. A leader of The Sharing. A Controller.

An enemy.

Marco didn't lift Chapman's car. He punched it. He punched the driver's door with a fist the size of a gallon milk jug.

_SHHHLUUUUUEEE! SHHHLUUUUUEEEE!_

(_Last car,_) Marco uttered.

And that last car he was approaching to was my father's new car.

(_Hey!_) I hollered, horrified. (_That's our car! My dad's going to have a cow._)

(_l hope so,_) Marco said.

A beam of light suddenly caught my attention. On the other side off the road was another car. An old one. Headlights on.

Just before I could warn Marco he's been seen, the other car burned rubber.

_ScreeeeeeeettttttTTTTTTCCCCCHHH!_

(_It's better if he's hopping mad-_)

(_Marco! Move!_)

It was a brief glance but he saw it.

He jumped out of the way.

And the old car dive-bombed right into brand new car.

Metal into metal.

(_Whoa, what just-_)

(_Marco, get out of there._)

He ran back into the shadows. In five minutes, he'd be in the air.

I glanced through the broken window screen. The driver's head was down, pillowed by the air bag. Couldn't make out the face.

I turned away after eight seconds to see the doors of the computer store, Starbucks, and the antique store to begin spewing out very angry men and women.

Chapman came running from the antique store.

So did my father, with Tom close behind.

"What the heck happened?"

"Vandals!"

"Lousy kids!"

"This neighborhood has totally gone to-"

"Call the cops!"

"I'm suing this shopping center!"

"Look at my door!"

That last was Chapman.

The rest of the Controllers from the antique store looked uneasy.

I waited, holding my breath, counting the seconds until my father, followed by a furious, scowling Tom wove through the crowd.

"My car!" my father cried. He practically fell to his knees. "Someone hurt my baby!"

"Mine, too," Chapman said, gazing angrily at the fist-sized dent in his car door. He looked around the street, then nodded at the two big, bulky men who were flanking him.

They split up and started searching the street.

(_Chapman's got guys looking for us,_) I called to Marco. (_Better get out of here._)

(_Well, come on, dude,_) Marco replied. (_I'm in a tree down the street. What're you waiting for?_)

(_I can't go yet, Marco,_) I said. (_I have to make sure my father's all right. I have to make sure he's still... You know._)

I scanned my father's face. Had he become a Controller yet? Stupid. I didn't know. Couldn't know. It's not as if Controllers go around twitching or exchanging Yeerk high fives or playing with their ears. A Controller looks, acts, seems exactly normal.

My father could be my father.

Or he could be screaming, helpless, just beginning to realize that his eyes and ears and mouth no longer belonged to him.

I waited.

A cough from the wreckage made my father turn from his car to the other. The one that caved in the side of his car. The driver got up, looking a little weary. Well, after having a collision crash for some reason.

Blue top. Black pants. Scarf, sunglasses and cap covering face.

The driver then looked at my father.

"Hey!" my father hollered.

The driver booked it.

And Dad did the craziest thing.

He chased after him. Out of all the people in the mini-mall, he ran after the driver.

"Stop!"

(_You got to be kidding me,_) I yelled and flew after them.

(_What?_) An owl was in the sky few seconds. (_Whoa, is your pops going after that driver?_)

(_Yeah and so are Chapman's henchmen._)

Thanks to Dad's shout, the two men only noticed the driver and joined him in the chase.

But did that mean anything? Did all this mean my father was now a Controller or was he really angry because it was his car that got trashed by the culprit?

I couldn't tell. Would a Yeerk really jump the gun to catch someone?

"STOP, YOU!"

A dumpster can was grabbed at the side. The driver threw it onto the ground. To slow them down.

Not my father. He may not be young anymore but I still remember him boosting about the time he was in the track team at his high school.

So jumping over the spilled can was nothing.

"Stop, you son of a-!" My father was dead set on stopping him. "You'll pay for my car!"

Was that a clue? Or was it the Yeerk picking on what my father would really say?

The driver disappeared around the corner. My father too.

(_We can't lose them,_) I said.

(_Guys!_)

In the sky, I could make out a red-tailed hawk and a bald eagle. The falcon mind told me to fly away but I knew not to.

(_You're late for the party,_) Marco uttered. (_Jake's pops is trying to catch a bad guy._)

(_Wait, what?_) Rachel gasped.

(_Seems like we missed a lot of things,_) Tobias said.

(_Oh, you did,_) Marco droned.

We came round the corner.

Up ahead was another man. Not the driver because he was wearing different clothes. Looking beyond the street as if he saw someone behind his shades.

"Hey, a guy wearing a blue shirt and cap ran this way. Have you seen him?" my father asked.

The man turned. "Yeah. Just a minute ago. Saw him turn left."

"Thanks." And my father kept on going.

Then the next unexpected thing happened.

Right behind my father's back, ripples shook across the man's body. Shifting and changing. Everything except his sunglasses formed differently like it was some hologram. But not like a Chee's hologram. Only it was a little like morphing. Morphing from one person to another, different clothes, different appearance.

In the same spot, exactly where the man who told my father where the driver went was standing, was the driver himself.

(_Did you see that?_) I asked.

(_Yeah. And I wished it was my eyes playing tricks on me._)

(_No way..._) Rachel gasped.

(_I know. Crazily imposs-_)

(_No. That...that thing he just did. Elias had that._)

I was shocked. Putting two and two together with this stranger and Elias.

(_Are you sure?_) I asked.

(_She was another person when I first saw her. At the mall. Like some kind of disguise._)

Chapman's men came from the corner. The driver glanced at them and I could have sworn he smirked. He then darted into another street and his chasers followed.

Away from Dad.

(_What's going on? Who is he?_) Rachel asked.

I couldn't answer her. I didn't even know myself. He was just some random person. But he was leading them away from my father. Why?

Whoever this man with the shades was, he slammed right into my father's car specifically for his attention. He lured him away one direction and then the two Controllers in the other. What was more, he was somehow connected to Elias.

Just because of one change, maybe. But you don't see people just change looks in an instant.

(_Whoever he is, those Controllers are going after him,_) Marco declared. (_Which can't be good._)

(_So we go after him?_) Tobias asked.

(_But my dad-_) I looked back at where my father had run off. He was still within sight but any longer and we'd lose him.

Marco didn't answer. He was reluctant. To leave me alone and go after my father. To do something stupid that could as well endanger me, my father and my friends altogether.

He then made his choice.

(_Rachel, you're with me. Tobias, go with Jake._)

With no one debating further, we split up.

It was easy to find my father again. Peregrine falcon. The fastest animal on Earth. In a dive I could hit two hundred miles an hour.

When you're flying, altitude equals speed. Tobias taught me that. Spend the energy to gain altitude, and then you can turn a long trip into a single glide.

(_There he is,_) Tobias hollered.

I glanced down, seeing him finally stopping and catching his breath.

But the place he was at, I didn't expect it.

(_We're...back here?_)

Back at the mini-mall.

Tom ran up to Dad.

"Dad, are you crazy? Where did you go?"

"That crook...led me...in one big circle... I couldn't have lost him," my father tried to speak while catching his breath. "I almost had him!"

Panting heavily after a long run, even at his age, didn't mean anything. Trying to catch a crook, something even I'd never expect my dad to do – maybe for his car, probably. But did all that mean he wasn't a Controller now?

Was this my father? Was it still him?

And then Tom gave me the clue I was hoping for.

"C'mon, Dad, calm down," he said, going over to him. "We can call and report it when we get home if you want to. Let's go back inside, okay? The meeting started few minutes and a lot of important things are gonna happen tonight. You don't want to miss it. Trust me."

"'Go back inside'?" my father echoed, looking at him like he was insane. "I'm not going back inside! I just saw the culprit after he broke into every car on this street! I'm going home right now and call Joe Johnson! Then the police!"

"Who?"

"He's our insurance agent, you really should know that, Tom. Come on."

"But, Dad," Tom pleaded, shooting a furious, agitated look back at Chapman, who stood on the curb watching them.

The high wail of distant police sirens split the night.

Chapman shook his head slightly.

"I'm staying till the end of the meeting," Tom said sullenly.

"Then I'll expect you home by ten." My father unlocked the car and got in. Managed to untangle it out of the other battered car after a few turns of the wheel and some low cursing.

Face tight and twisted with ill-concealed rage, Tom stalked over and stood on the curb next to Chapman, watching as my father drove away.

(_He's clean,_) I said as an owl landed silently on a nearby ledge. (_He's clean. He's okay._)

(_Yeah,_) Tobias said. (_We better find Marco and Rachel._)

I agreed with him there. Now was the other matter.

That man with the sunglasses.

We quickly flew to the area where we last saw him and searched from there. Three minutes later, we found Marco and Rachel above a busy street.

(_Everything good on your side?_) Rachel asked.

(_Yeah, my father's clean,_) I said. (_He didn't stay for the meeting. But he's angry about the car._)

(_Well, what that guy did, who wouldn't?_) Marco uttered. (_He went into the crowd just seconds ago. Still being followed._)

I glanced for that one familiar face in the pack of people. Found him trying to blend in as he pushed through.

Metres away were Chapman's men. Still hounding the guy.

One was on the phone, dialling again and again.

(_They've been trying to get backup the last minute. And failing badly._)

"What's going on? I can't get a signal," I overheard two ladies below us.

"Yeah. Me too. Is the tower down or something?"

Ok, now that was strange.

(_Can't believe we're jumping from Jake's dad to some stranger who has Elias' toys,_) Marco uttered. (_And that can't be a coincidence._)

(_What should we do? That guy has some connection to Elias,_) Rachel pointed the urgency.

(_We can't dive in a crowded street._)

(_And we can't leave him alone with those two. We don't even know what he knows about Elias!_)

The man with the sunglasses tried his best to escape. Calmly ducking behind the people without drawing suspicion. At best, to lose the two Controllers in the crowd.

Then all of a sudden, three ATMs close by exploded.

Right below us, money streamed out from the ATM machines like some malfunction caused it.

"Money!"

"Free money!"

"Move!"

"Get out of the way!" one of the two men shouted as by-passers leapt for the falling cash.

(_Something is happening around here._)

(_Geez, what was your first clue?_) Rachel said crossly at Marco.

(_Whatever's happening, it's slowing those two down,_) I said. But Marco was right before. This couldn't be a coincidence. No phone signal? Money raining down?

(_Ok, there really is a party tonight,_) Marco said. (_And he's trapped._)

Further down, the man with the sunglasses was having difficulty going through an open joint where bars and restaurants were. Like Marco said, the place was full of people going wild with beverages and music.

One drunken lady stumbled into the man with the shades and offered him a sip from her glass. He kindly declined with a tip of his cap and continued off.

(_Those two are getting close,_) Rachel pointed. Chapman's men were right back on his tail.

(_Should we do something? If they catch him, they might just find out about Elias,_) Tobias said.

Which was bad. To the Yeerks, Elias was branded as the Black Massacre. A mass killer to the Yeerks. Who probably did more sabotage than we did.

And if this guy knew about her, what's to say the Yeerks could learn something about Elias? About the truth? About Kelly and us?

We couldn't let that happen. After everything Elias did to keep her secret away from the them.

(_So what? Pluck at their eyes in public?_) Marco proposed.

(_We better do something fast and right now,_) I urged and noticed a net of balloons hovering above the crowd. The kind you see open up and let the balloons fall down on you in these fancy parties and events. (_That. We can use that. We can pull it over the Controllers and rip the net up. That should slow them down long enough._)

(_Ok. Better than plucking someone eyes out._)

(_On my mark-_)

Just before we could do anything on my cue, the song playing at an outdoor stage stopped halfway. Whines and complains escaped the disappointed crowd but before the DJ could fix it, another song was played.

More hip-hop than the last.

With that, the crowd cheered loud and proud.

The power of the music seemed to motivate them to dance harder. And making it just as hard for the Controllers to catch up. Both being caught in a strong wave.

(_WHOA!_) Rachel hollered.

(_Look out!_) Tobias warned but I wasn't sure what at first.

Until I got close to it.

_BAM!_

(_AHHH!_) I screamed.

Something big and red was right at me. And it blasted the moment I raked my talons at it.

And more of it was floating down, around us.

I quickly calmed the falcon mind down once I realized what they were. The colorful balloons from the net. They were released.

The four of us soared out of that fast, keeping our talons and becks away from them. We landed on the edge of a building roof and searched for the guy below.

No sign of him. Don't even know if he sneaked into a building or a passing bus.

(_We lost him,_) Tobias said.

And so did the two Controllers. Once they got out of the dancing crowd, they wheeled about in vain. One glanced down at his phone and brought it to his ear. Didn't need to guess what he was saying.

The phone signal must have come back on.

(_Ok, what does this guy have? Good luck?_) Marco hollered.

(_From Elias? I'd say definitely,_) I said. I kept on looking but the man with the shades was long gone. (_There's nothing we can do now. Let's get out of here._)

(_I can't believe this. Really, Jake? You should have told us about Tom. I had to leave my bags at the mall and-_) Rachel stopped. (_Oh god! My bags!_)

And with a flap of her wings, she was off. No word.

Tobias looked at us. Even he wasn't sure what just happened. (_I think I'll call it a day. Let Kelly and Erek know all's well too._)

(_Yeah. You do that,_) I said.

He left to the sky.

(_What a day..._) I groaned.

(_Yeah, tell me about it,_) Marco said. (_Just who was that guy?_)

(_Marco, I think he knew. That he was dealing with Yeerks._)

His owl eyes stared at me as he tilted his head. (_A normal person? With no morphing and stuff? Can't be._)

(_He took the car and rammed it into my father's car. He didn't drive it at you or yell "a gorilla was trashing the cars". He took the fall for you._)

Heck, if this person was a Controller himself, he would have warned the Yeerks from the meeting about Marco.

He didn't.

Marco put the facts together. And finally, after some hard thinking, he came with a hypothesis.

(_Then maybe...he's the sender._)

(_Maybe._) That was a possibility.

(_Do you think we'll see him again?_) he asked.

If it had anything to do with Elias...

(_Your answer is as good as mine,_) I admitted.

(_Yeah._) He heaved a sigh. (_Let's get going._)

(_Deal,_) I said, letting the falcon's keen senses carry me swiftly home.

(_Jake? That's round one. You know that,_) Marco said, after a moment.

(_Yeah,_) I said. (_I know._)

The fight to save my father had only begun.

The vision was happening.

Marco and I went our separate ways. Thankfully, I had left my bedroom window open so it was just a sail in. I demorphed and slowly crept out my room. I wasn't sure if my father had arrived at any time I was still out.

The house was silent.

Then the front door slammed, making me jump up.

A sign I didn't need to be on edge.

I walked down the stairs casually. My father was in the hall, coat off and with a mad face.

"Dad, something wrong?" I asked. The role of a puzzled son.

"Jake, sorry. No, it's nothing. Some," he held in probably his tenth curse of the day. "...Lunatic went and destroyed every car at Tom's Sharing meeting. Including mine."

I looked shocked. "Oh, man. Are you ok? Where's Tom?"

"At his meeting. I didn't stay. That car was just bought too. Who has the nerve to do that? And to my baby too?"

Looks like the man with the shades was taking the rap for car damage and at the same, all the credit from Marco for all his hard ape work.

"Where's the car? In the garage?"

"Three blocks down. Engine died before I could reach here. Well, if that punk thinks he can get away with it, he's got another thing coming!"

The phone in the living room rang and Dad marched right up to it.

"Hello! Whoever is this, this is a bad time to be calling – Oh, honey. Sorry but can I call you later? I need to call Joe-" My father stopped. His resentment slowly faded away.

I knew on the spot it was a call from my mother. But...

I was scared. I didn't expect anything more after risking neck for my father and I thought after all that, I could at ease. For a moment, yes but I would, knowing my father was my father.

Maybe I should have expected.

First thought I had was something happened to Mom. Made me frantic to think that Tom might have thought of another option. Go after my mother too so that she'd fly back home and say, it was all a false alarm. Anything. Made me choke inside to think that my mother could have been forced into a Yeerk pool at my great grandfather's town. Just like how Tom was trying to do with my father.

Then I remembered another reason for the call.

Something happened.

My knees went weak and wobbly.

My father recollected himself after a minute of silence. "...I see. I'm sorry to hear that, dear... Yeah. Ok... I'll tell the kids... Let me know the date then... Yeah... Night, honey..."

With that, the call ended.

He turned to me. I couldn't tell the emotion from his face.

"Dad, did something happen?"

My voice was shaky and shrill. Yeah. Not exactly the voice of a fearless leader, as Marco would have pointed out, had he been there.

He sighed deeply.

"Jake... Grandpa G passed away. His poor heart finally gave out."

It was...like a full-blown force. Like I've been stabbed.

Grandpa G was dead.

I tried to say, "Grandpa G's dead?" but the words were all struck in my throat.

"The doctors did everything they could."

That one call I sent to Grandpa G.

It really was for nothing.

I couldn't save him.

Just like we couldn't save Elias.

My lips trembled. As hard as I tried, I tried to stop myself from crying. Letting the tears come out like a kid again. A small five-year-old kid when his favourite kite was struck in a tree and ripped to shreds.

Dad must have seen me struggle somehow. Because he wrapped his arms around me.

And I let the tears go.

Not wailing. Not screaming my heart out. Just shedding them.

He whispered, "It's ok. It's ok."

But it wasn't.

I was really hoping. From the day I got the news from Kelly, I was hoping. For that one small little chance that it'd be alright. That Grandpa G would make it true.

It was there but for a short moment. Now it was gone for good.

That day I cried, I saved my father from a fate worse than death. From a fate I endured. That same day, I lost a relative.

Now my family was small.

* * *

Vickie: Yeah, I had to end it with a much sadder moment than what you guys read in the original book.

I know it's sad that his great grandfather had to die and I do really hate character deaths if it's done badly. But I think for his grandpa, keeping him alive for any longer might be bad if you think about. Finding out later that the world is at war again and it's not even the Nazis you fought before might be too much for an old man.

Also, we really can't escape old age. We just have to let it happen. Unexpected or accepted deaths are something we can try to stop.

So I hope you aren't mad of my decision here. And making it emotionally worse for Jake too but with the situations set in place, who wouldn't? No one would ignored the fact you get a chance to do something for a family member before it happens.

But in life, even war, you have to move on. As grim and sad as it sounds.

Anyway, I still hope you like it and the mysteries you see going on. Whatever is going on, we'll have to find out in the later chapters. Cya all in the next chapter and R'n'R!


	7. Seven

**SEVEN**

"You still should have waited for the rest of us!" Rachel said.

It was late that night and we'd all snuck out to meet in Cassie's barn to figure out what to do next.

It was...so-so.

I was worn out from Grandpa G's death. Distracted, nervous leaving my father alone in the house with Tom.

Tobias was perched high in the rafters.

Marco was strangely quiet.

Cassie was listening, her face filled with distress.

Ax was watching me with all four eyes.

Kelly was nervous, first time being in our serious meetings.

So was Horatio.

And Rachel...

Well, she was a bit mad.

Apparently, before Tobias went looking for her, she'd been shopping at the mall.

And this is where Kelly's vision about Rachel's locker comes in.

She's rushed to back us up at the streets, stowing her packages in a rented locker. In her hurry, she'd forgotten to lock it.

Now, she had just remembered that and went flying back to the mall. Just inches away from her open locker, she found a sneaky teen with his grabby hands on her bags.

So what happened next?

She grabbed the thief before he could get away and shoved him right to the floor. The mall cops took him away, ignoring his pleads for ice for his broken nose. But they were willing to take him away from the 'crazy blonde'.

I felt sorry for the thief to have been put through that. But then again, maybe this was a blessing. I wouldn't be able to handle a very mad Rachel. That's a scary thing.

"We weren't looking at a battle, we were just creating a diversion," I said. "Otherwise we'd have waited for you."

I didn't look at Marco as I said it.

(_It was an urgent situation,_) Ax said calmly.

"Exactly."

Tobias was in the rafters. He ruffled his wings. (_A temporary victory. As long as your dad is trying to force Tom to go with you guys, your dad's in danger._)

"I know," I said wearily. "I've thought of trying to convince my dad to lighten up, but there's no way. He's not going to let Tom show disrespect for Grandpa G."

"This is so stupid," Rachel said. "I know we're in a knockdown, drag-out fight behind a dying man but this is idiotic! This is a nothing fight. No possible gain for us. All we can do is get hammered."

Dead man. I hadn't told them the news yet.

"Believe me, I know, Rachel. It's out of nowhere."

"Just like the vision said, had to be four days," Marco complained. "No biggie to the Yeerk if it was two days."

(_You will not visit this relative, Rachel?_) Ax asked.

"No, I'm not really related. Grandpa G is Jake's great-grandfather on his mother's side. We're related on his father's side."

(_Ah. And that is important?_)

(_You know, maybe I'm not getting it, but why didn't Tom just tell your father he's not going and that's the end of it?_) Tobias interrupted.

I looked at him.

So did the rest of us.

(_What?_) he asked, sounding defensive. (_I used to do that whenever one of my aunts or uncles wanted me to go somewhere I didn't want to. They never made me go.)_ He was quiet a moment. Then, abashed, he said, (_Oh. Duh. They didn't care what I did.)_

"Your relatives are jerks and they didn't deserve you," Rachel snapped.

"I find it stranger that foster care didn't take you away," Kelly said. "I mean, that's what happened to some kids back at the orphanage I was at."

(_You know, I actually would have liked that._)

"No, you wouldn't," Kelly admitted. "It's not easy being a foster kid. I've seen some always go back because of reasons. Finding the right family doesn't always go well."

"Well, my father said we're going as a family," I said. "And knowing my father, Tom would stir up more trouble than he could handle by directly defying him, you know?"

"Sure," Marco agreed. "It's hard to get to those Kandrona rays when you're grounded for life."

"Plus, if he acted really badly, then I'm sure your parents would start looking at him differently," Cassie added. "They might even decide that the Sharing is a bad influence and try to make him quit."

I nodded. "Tom's Yeerk is passing as a normal, high-school kid. Bottom line, he can either follow family rules or he loses his cover. The Yeerks have a choice. Keep Tom in place by infesting my father. Or withdraw Tom's Yeerk, put him into a new host, and kill Tom to keep him from talking."

"There's another choice," Rachel said.

"Yeah," I said. I knew. I just couldn't make myself say it out loud.

"What choice?" Cassie asked.

"If the Yeerks can't make his father into a Controller soon enough, they could just kill him. As an orphan, Tom's cover isn't affected. Might even be enhanced," Rachel said. And then, looking me straight in the eye, she said, "And Tom would probably be the one to do it."

I felt bitter at the idea.

"Maybe. But..." Kelly thought deeply. "Would he even have freedom under foster care?"

"Why? An orphan can do whatever he wants, right?"

"If you're not in the system. Foster care would cut in and take Tom and Jake away. And that's if his mother is not fit to take care of two kids alone. Just because you have no family, doesn't mean you have your own life. Only the much older kids get to do whatever they want and leave the orphanage."

"Just like that?"

"Yeah. When they reach eighteen, they can leave. Anyone younger than that have to wait until they're adopted or till that age. But I don't know if Yeerks are in foster care."

"What's more, there could be foster Controllers," Marco added.

Kelly frowned. Trying not to put together her time at the orphanage with the idea of being adopted by Controllers. "That's actually creepy."

"Well, I don't think Tom will wait a few more years until he's out of foster care. He might as well be welcomed into Chapman's family with open arms. No papers ask. Guarantee that."

"I see," she said grimly. "So what now? If your father is bent on bringing you all to see your grandfather, how can we protect him?"

There was only one way.

"Surveillance," I said. From the moment he left the house for work in the morning until we left for the cabin on Saturday. "Twenty-four-hour surveillance."

"So we're back on our original plan." Rachel sighed miserably. "And there's this mysterious man with the shades."

"Are you sure he has the same, um, technology as Elias'?" Cassie tried to put the right words.

"Has to be. He could change identity just like Elias did that one time. What was weird was the ATMs and DJ booth going crazy."

"Or why he 'pretended' not to see a gorilla in the street," I added. I glanced at Marco, expecting him to point just how close he was to a near accident.

He kept quiet for some reason. In his own thoughts on something else.

(_If he is using the same technology, maybe he caused those machines to malfunction,_) Tobias said.

(_That would mean there are others like Elias,_) Ax pointed.

"More time-travelling mercenaries? I don't know. Elias said that she and David were the only ones who went into the past," Rachel said.

"She could have made allies. She's been around for nine years," I said.

"Nine years that she stayed quiet."

"Isn't that good?" Kelly asked. "If there are others who knows Elias, doesn't that mean they can help us?"

"Maybe but why haven't they approached us since Elias's death? They either don't know or trust us. We're probably the same as they are. We don't know who to trust," I said.

"Elias didn't approach us until Kelly was in danger. Would she have really met someone else before us?" Rachel made a point.

"To anyone, no. But after what we saw at the street and that voice we heard last week, maybe Elias really made allies with those she could rely."

"People who knows about the invasion," Cassie said. "And they're fighting."

(_Which is amazing and downright mad,_) Tobias uttered.

"Hey, Marco. You've been quiet," Rachel called.

He didn't speak straight away. Let the silence hang for a second.

"There's something's that been bugging me..."

"What about? We have some Robin Hood going around-"

"No. Not that. Kelly's dream."

Kelly raised an eyebrow. "And that is...?"

"Why did it go differently?" Marco looked right at me. "Why isn't your grandpa dead?"

I clenched my teeth. Yeah, he would go there.

Something changed in the vision. Something Kelly didn't predict.

"Why is your grandfather still alive?" Marco demanded as calm as he could go.

(_What does it matter if he's alive or not?_) Tobias asked.

"Something triggered Tom to go target his father. And that was supposed to be a funeral. Your grandpa is in the hospital instead and that's still making all of you go visit him."

His eyes were harsh. Trying to see if I'd give a sign. A reaction to prove he was right.

He must have found it.

"You did something... What did you do, Jake?"

No point in keeping silent. "I called him. Yesterday afternoon."

Everyone except me and Kelly were shocked.

"You did what?" Rachel shouted.

"Did you tell him about the dream? Because if you did-"

"No, I didn't," I cut Marco off. "All I did was talk to him. To see a doctor. That's it." Marco's eyes still locked on me. "I didn't tell him about Kelly's dream."

Kelly stepped in, concerned. "It was my fault. I told to give his great grandfather a call."

"Why would you tell him that?" Marco snapped at her.

"Why?" Now it was Kelly's turn to be shocked. "Because that's the right thing to do. Jake gets the chance to say goodbye to him. If he didn't, he'll only regret it."

"Well, thanks to that, we just altered something in that vision. What if it went differently? What if that's an excuse for the Controllers to come waltzing in because of one change in a vision?"

"Then I would have seen it in my dreams next time I sleep."

"Next time you sleep won't help. Your visions aren't like Elias'. They're not spontaneous or specific. They're random. We talked about this. Relying on them won't always help us."

"So my dreams **are** useless?"

"We don't know the consequences if we change the event because we want to."

"And neither those if the vision comes true."

"We don't know either way. If we take the risk, anything could happen with or without your dreams."

"Well, you know what? It didn't help. Because you know why?" I yelled. "Grandpa G died three hours ago!"

The moment I shouted the news, the tension in the air fell. And the agony clogging inside me was released. Like something was choking in me that needed to be shouted out and if I didn't...I don't know. Maybe something bad.

Tobias kept quiet. Ax's four eyes were honest, as if silently apologizing to me for my tragedy.

"Grandpa G's dead?" Rachel repeated. Her tone soft but not emotional. Like she said, she wasn't that close.

But he was connected to my family. And my family to hers.

"Jake..." All Cassie could offer was, "I'm so sorry..."

I then regretted saying about Grandpa G. Because one look at Kelly told me I should have kept shut.

The news wasn't something she expected to hear. It was something she had wished it wasn't true.

Probably as wishful as I was that Grandpa G would live. But that was really too much to hope.

One more death on her head. Just like her best friend. Just like Elfangor.

I wouldn't blame her. I wasn't angry at her for telling me about Grandpa G's death. I wouldn't hold that against her.

But whatever I'd say, I knew she wouldn't listen.

"You shouldn't have called him."

I glared at Marco. I wanted him to take that back. Shut up before he goes spewing what I should say to my family. My now-dead grandfather.

Kelly suddenly stood up from her hale of bay. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Shouldn't have called? That was his choice to make, Marco."

"And look at what happened." Marco turned to me. I didn't look eye to eye.

"That was his grandfather. Not yours," Kelly said. "His family."

"Kelly, you're still new to this. One thing you're gonna learn is that we can't let our feelings get the better of us. And that means phoning relatives. For all you know, the Controllers could have listened in on that call."

"Unbelievable! What if it was your family in my dreams? You wouldn't have done something too? You'd have left it alone and waited for your grandfather to die?"

Marco bit his lips bitterly at the hard question. "Maybe I would have."

"No! No one would have. You've never seen the kind of dreams I had. If I've seen anybody you cared a lot, I'd tell you. No matter what, you'd do everything in your power to save that person."

I could tell Marco was about to open his big mouth. Point A to point B again.

Don't go there, Marco.

Not when you and Kelly lost the same person you cared at school.

"Not when we can screw ourselves up. There are some things we shouldn't change with unpredictable costs."

"So the next thing I see your family die or get taken, I should keep it to myself?"

"Now, hang on, Kelly-"

"The next thing I see Rachel's relatives or Ax's family or my parents and Bax in some trouble, I don't say anything? All because you think it'll jeopardize us?"

Marco stayed silent. But he kept on the serious face.

That was the last straw.

"Fine." Kelly headed to the doors. "And for the record, I never asked for these dreams."

The whole sentence she barked got to us. Including Marco, wiping his serious face off. Forced us to think about having something you had no control over.

There was a big difference between her dreams and our morphing power. The five of us, we chose it right on the spot. For our own reasons. And if we had a second chance, we might have chosen otherwise. For Ax, because it was a weapon made by his people. A military choice to use it.

Kelly and her dreams, she had no say in it. She has them for as long as she could remember. Could even be the day she was born.

She bolted out the barn with Horatio. Didn't matter if she waited for us to speak.

"Kelly," Cassie called but it never reached her.

(_Was that necessary?_) Ax asked. Marco didn't answer.

"You know Kelly isn't a fighter like us?" Rachel asked coldly.

"She needs to know it's not always that simple. We're at war here."

Rachel didn't rebuke back. Because Marco was right. But at the same time, he wasn't.

She looked away. "You can be stupid sometimes."

Erek then entered the barn. "Did something happen? I just saw Kelly."

Marco sighed. "It's nothing. What news do you bring?"

Erek first looked around, sensing just how thick it felt inside the barn. I gave him a nod to go ahead. Anything to break the tension. "Well, I got weird news. And weirder news. Which one do you want to hear?"

Marco groaned, plodding his head into his hands.

If it was had anything to do with Elias, it meant we were going to go in circles again.

"Start with the weird news," I said.

"I went to do some research on the woman, DaSvan."

"And you found out she's a Controller. What's weird about that? She's particularly friends with that investor," Rachel said.

"I don't know if DaSvan is one," Erek exclaimed. "She's a charitable person but all her donations weren't given to Yeerk organizations. She really has donated to the needy. Helped troubled people in any way she can. But I've unearthed dirt on her too. Assault. Lawsuit. Blackmail. List goes on and most of them were expunged."

"So she's a dangerous woman behind a pretty face then?"

"I suppose, if you're a bad guy. The lawsuits were those from criminals, attacking her company's reputation. None were successful."

"Why would crooks sue her?" Marco asked. "That's like sitting in the President's chair."

"Her company's equipment and forensic evidence is what keeps them in jail. Attack the equipment and their case will fall apart. The person walks free. DaSvan also worked closely with several investigation units across the country, including in this city."

"Ok, what does that have to do with anything?" I asked.

"Jake, she's made lots of enemies. And I mean the scary kind. Serial killers, gangsters, whack jobs."

"So a Yeerk is doing a good job at keeping crime off the street. That's..." Marco leaned back. "Hardworking actually. She's not caring about the invasion?"

"Doesn't look like it."

"Do you think she's part of the Yeerk Peace Movement?" Cassie asked. Good question.

"We'll have to ask some in the movement to find out. But there can't be anything to gain in stopping criminals for the Yeerks...right?" Marco asked.

"Maybe to cover up investigations the Yeerks could have links to. That's my theory," Erek suggested. "The weird part is the recent events around her. Three months ago, she was invited to an investigative hearing. A public official in the district attorney suspected of wrongdoing. Before she could enter the court, she was shot. With a sniper rifle."

"That's a little extreme for a celebrity."

"Wouldn't cross my mind if this official hired someone to kill her," Rachel said. "If she was really hated."

"The shooter was never caught so that fell under the FBI. It remains unsolved but the crime unit she collaborated with were able to connect it to the official."

"What happened to DaSvan after that?" Cassie asked.

"Her butler, Arthur, was with her at the time and saved her life. To the public, she stepped down from her seat because of medical reasons."

"The shot was life-changing for the Yeerk," Rachel said. "Maybe enough to create a will. A guess would be she wrote something that might be the Yeerk's fall or rise."

"I've not found anything about the will yet. All I know is Arthur is giving Eustis a hard time getting it."

"Yup. This is weird news," Marco grumbled. "And the weirder news?"

"The man you chased after, I couldn't find anything on him. Not even the Yeerks. Whoever he was, he never existed."

(_Like Elias,_) Tobias pointed. (_So we got nothing._)

"Nope, it was still fruitful. I went to check what caused those malfunctions in that street. And this is where it gets weirder. All the machines and the nearby radio tower were tampered with by an electromagnetic interference. Including the balloon net."

(_How so?_)

"It was on an electric timer, set to let them go after 10. That was two hours before you were in the street. It was speeded up immediately seconds after the booth was tampered. Someone hacked into those machines. And it's not a human."

I felt uneasy at where this was going.

"What are you saying, Erek?"

"I'm saying that the only way someone would cause three ATM, a radio tower, a booth and a timer to go bonkers would be me or any other Chee out there."

(_A Chee caused all that?_) Ax repeated.

"Do you know who?" I asked.

"If it was me, I would have known it myself and told you guys. And I checked. Out of all the Chee I know, no one meddled with those machines. Nobody even knew those machines were tinkered in that street."

"Hey, man. The way you're going is like there's another Chee out there you don't know about," Marco laughed but it died quickly at Erek's solemn face. "There really is a Chee you don't know?"

"One that is better than me. Even I couldn't find this mystery Chee. He covered his tracks well when I was tracing the interference signal."

"How can that be? You all are a tight group, right?" Rachel asked.

"Yes and we wouldn't keep secrets from each other. The only logical thing I can think of is this Chee is one who went off the grid in the past."

"Who's not even talking to you," I added. "Maybe he's in hiding because he knows something big."

"And I think I know what. The interference signal? It has the same pattern as Elias' technology had."

Our eyes bulged.

"So this Chee is also connected to Elias?"

"Yes. How? I'm don't know."

"So more questions than answers. Great," Marco grumbled.

"I'll keep digging. If I can find this Chee, I might find this man too. They're both linked to Elias so they must be working together."

"For what?" Rachel uttered. "Stopping the war from the shadows?"

"Whatever their motives are, the only thing to do is to find them and ask ourselves. I want to know just why this Chee has not contacted anyone of us."

"Which is for another day," Cassie mumbled. "We can't do anything tonight anyway."

"Arrrgh. I'm going home. Anything to do with Elias is making my head spin," Marco complained. "Hopefully, Kelly will be her old self again."

Rachel shook her head. "What makes you think she'll forgive you so easily?"

"C'mon. She's the cheeriest oddball ever. She'll get over it... Right?"

She just left with Erek. Marco followed after, yelling, "Right! ?"

(_I shall go see how Kelly is,_) Ax said.

"Ax, I'll go talk to her," I told him.

(_Are you sure, Prince Jake?_)

I nodded. "Yeah."

(_...Alright._) Ax and Tobias left together.

Leaving me and Cassie alone.

She looked at me. Worried. "Jake, are you ok?"

"...I'm not sure," I admitted. Still bitter and sore about this whole family death. "...You know, I really thought I could have saved him. Now...I'm actually scared. I just lost Grandpa G. And I nearly lost my father."

"But you didn't." She was hopeful. "Don't worry. We'll protect him."

Yeah. But for how long? Until we go to the lake and Tom finds the knife?

"...Marco is right about the call. But so is Kelly," Cassie stated.

After I left the barn, I found Kelly at her campsite. By the river.

She flung a stone at the water. You know, skipping a stone across the surface. Grandpa G showed me how to do it before. A three-skipper.

The stone splashed into the water. Kelly picked up another and tried again.

She was a member of our team. She knew the kind of dangers.

But Kelly was different from us. And I don't mean our powers.

Kelly was the youngest. A rookie. And she was someone who hadn't really stepped into the grimiest and bloodiest fights in this war. Someone who has yet to make the most terrible choices. Only seen it happen before we dove right into them.

Then again...I think once she does, she'll be much closer to being Elias.

Do you think it's selfish to protect her from the dark things in this war? From us? So she wouldn't be Elias? Or selfish that we couldn't give her special treatment? Because she had to be?

Whatever you'd think, I don't care. Even I wouldn't know which was more selfish than the other.

Because I was still deciding. Even to this day.

I took a glimpse at her tent. Inside, I could see the broken, smashed black helmet next to Kelly's pillow.

That belonged to Elias. The only proof she had existed before she died. Part of a futuristic suit of armor with its AI.

Another stone dropped to the riverbed.

"You know you're throwing it down too close to you?" Kelly wheeled around. "Makes the stone bounce too high in the air."

"...You can skip stones?" she asked.

"Yeah. Grandpa G taught me. You?"

"Chogan. But I still can't get the hang of it."

There was a moment of silence. Me going nostalgic about the couple of times I went up there to see Grandpa G. And undoubtedly, Kelly about her time with her friend.

It's funny. Remembering the small things you actually wanted to forget? But now, you couldn't? The normal things you thought weren't thrilling? Now all that, they became meaningful to me.

"Don't let Marco get to you. He can be hard-headed sometimes," I pointed. "But he makes some good points."

I was hoping me cracking a conversation would get her to talk. Nothing so far.

"...I really meant it when you should give your grandfather a call." Kelly gazed at the ripples. "Whatever you told him, I don't care. All that mattered was that you talked to him before he died... I wanted you to have the chance I didn't get."

"You and this Chogan guy, right?"

She hesitantly nodded.

"I know Marco is right... I just... I'm afraid you guys will lose what's really important... I don't want you all to feel that."

She said that from experience. Which is true. She didn't have any memories of her own before she was found by Chogan. Her biological parents were gone too. She lost her chance to have a normal life when she ran away from home.

She had this thinking. That the smallest things in your life were the most important things. Bigger than what is 'out there'.

Cassie was about ethics. Marco was about logic. The rest just followed either thinking they saw fit.

Kelly was different. What was the word? Metaphysics?

I picked up a stone, nice round one. With a good swing, I tossed it.

_Plop-plop-plop-pik!_

Three skips. Just like how Grandpa G taught me.

"Kelly."

She turned away from the stone skipping, her face lit up from my trick.

I smiled softly.

"Thanks for telling me."

* * *

Vickie: So is it becoming more and more of a conspiracy between the lines?

I've always wondered why the original book was called Conspiracy. The storyline was good but there was nothing much that made it a 'conspiracy'. To me, conspiracy would be much more secretive. Something that would slowly be unearth over time like you see in those crime drama shows. The original was just a building plot to stop Tom, even if it may mean killing him but nothing convincing of a conspiracy if you know what I mean.

I'd say conspiracy would fit well with something like connecting to one of Elias' secrets and that she was a secret op too. Or at least something much deeper than just a simple "hey, dad, time to be a Controller" plot. That's my opinion anyway.

Also, I hope I'm tackling well on how characters deal with situations, including my own character, Kelly. She's still new and pretty soon with more meetings to come, she will question about the Animorphs' way of thinking like how she does with Marco's straight line.

Kelly's understanding of how the world works is based on her experiences and learning. Just like Elias, she's adaptive to any situation but she wouldn't put the feelings of others before hers (as you've read how sacrificing Kelly was in the Alteration). Her metaphysics may seem naïve but this is the strength she relies that's stopping her from taking her own life. Sometimes this may conflict with Marco's logic and Cassie's ethics but other times, it may be prove useful in their decisions. Even making them be less human too – something we've seen them struggle in the books.

In all, we'll see how Kelly's thinking is tested. We all know the result will be and becoming Elias, her future self, is inescapable. Anyhow, hope you guys like the direction I'm going, that I'm making this a better conspiracy and that you like this chapter. Cya all in the next chapter! R'n'R! :D


	8. Eight

**EIGHT**

The plan was still the same. Surveillance on my father. While we were waiting for Erek to find out our elusive man with the shades and the Chee in the background.

I could do most of it. He was my father and although I didn't say it because I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, I really didn't think anybody would watch him as carefully as I would.

I still agreed to some backup. I knew I couldn't be everywhere at once.

Dad had broken the news to Tom about Grandpa G when he came back home. Wept crocodile tears for him.

The next morning, Tom was all sweet reason and compromise. Saying he's resolved to put his business aside for Grandpa G. He went out early, claiming he'd talk to some of the kids from The Sharing before school. See if they'd cover for the commitments he'd made.

Right.

I waited until my father was in the shower, then called myself out of school due to a death in the family.

Luckily, I sound enough like my father.

The plan was for me to hitch a ride with my dad. Tobias would be gaining altitude, looking to hitch an elevator ride on a thermal. From high up he'd be able to watch almost all of my dad's drive from home to his office. Two miles, give or take.

But his reaction time would necessarily be slow. He'd be backup, but if there was an attack, it'd be up to me.

Stupid to morph in the dining room. Idiotic. But I was going to roach morph and I couldn't travel far on those six little legs. Besides, Tom was gone. And my dad wouldn't come this way.

I guess I almost got what I deserved for morphing into a bug. Because the morning was like a battlefield for me.

That and my father was freaked at seeing a cockroach in the house and was about to have his son killed without knowing. Thankfully, I managed to hide in the cuff of his pants.

Eventful morning.

But the drive wasn't. I was glad. I couldn't really have taken much more excitement.

Somewhere far above the car Tobias watched. I didn't care. I crept down and out and settled comfortably in the cuff. I was on the left leg so there wasn't much movement.

Ax was waiting at the parking garage by my dad's building. I could feel the car taking tight turns, going up the ramp.

(_I believe I see your father, Prince Jake. Are you with him?_)

(_Yeah, Ax. Barely._)

Ax calls me his prince because I'm Ax's "prince". It's an Andalite respect thing. But I guess it only goes so far.

We parked. I tensed. Things could get hairy again.

The leg swung out into chillier air and brighter light.

My dad stood up. Stretched. Pulled his medical bag out of the backseat. And we were off to the office.

Swing forward... _Crunch!_ ... Swing back. Swing forward... _Crunch!_ ... Swing back.

(_Jake, I'm here,_) Tobias reported in. (_No sign that anyone followed you._)

(_That was quick travel!_) I said.

(_Soon as I saw you guys leave I headed here. And I was already more than half the way here._)

Somewhere above me, invisible to my roach senses, were a red-tailed hawk and, if Ax had followed the plan, a seagull.

(_There is a human watching Jake's father closely,_) Ax reported. (_He is a large human with more than the typical amount of facial fur. He appears to be forming facial expressions associated with anger._)

(_A ticked-off bearded guy?_) Tobias translated. (_Can't see him. Must still be under the ... Okay, I got him. Yeah. He does look ticked off about something. But he's not making any kind of move. And there's an old man too, heading to the elevator. Much be a patient._)

My dad stopped walking. _Wooosh._ A door opening. We moved. Closing behind us.

We were in.

As soon as my father stepped into his own office I shot down his leg and hid under the garbage can near his desk.

Waited.

No frantic swiping disturbed the air currents.

Good. Then he hadn't even known I'd hitched a ride.

The floor trembled.

Someone was walking toward my father's office. It was the nurse, informing him the day's schedule.

Ten minutes later, the first kid came in with his mom.

I spent the day zigging and zagging, zipping along the walls and squeezing into crevices to avoid being seen and squashed.

Every two hours I demorphed and remorphed in the bathroom. The first time it was nerve-wracking. I scrawled a hasty note on a piece of paper towel – saying out of order – and stuck it onto the last stall with some used gum. I felt a little safer in the out-of-order stall.

It was boring beyond belief. But it gave me a lot of time to think. Too much time.

You'd think that with a vision told, I could find a way to destroy Tom's Yeerk. But at the same time, I was hoping to save my dad from Tom's fate.

I guess when you're stuck on a defensive game, all you can do is wait. Wait for the enemy to pick his time and his place. And wear out your resources and your people waiting, waiting, knowing all it takes is for the enemy to get lucky and all your tense, cramped-up waiting will be for nothing.

I tried to focus on other stuff. So I focused on my dad. Always nice. Always gentle. Joking with the kids and reassuring the moms and dads. Staying calm while the littler kids screamed bloody murder and vibrated the very walls.

My dad's never been my doctor. I go to one of his partners. You know, it'd be creepy otherwise.

I'd always thought it was pretty cool that he was a doctor. But I guess I hadn't really thought much about it.

He was a good guy, my dad. Not just because he was my dad. Because he was a good person. Because he did his work as well as he knew how and wasn't a jerk to the people around him. That doesn't make you a saint or anything, but I guess when I think about it, that's what I hope I'll do when I'm older: treat my family right, do my job well, not be a jerk to the people I meet. Maybe that's not a huge, ambitious goal, but it would be enough for me.

I've done the hero thing. You can have it. Me, I wanted a day when all I'd have to do was be a decent human being.

Half the day was gone. But it was still long.

After the sixth time I demorphed and morphed, I trailed back to my father's office. Kinda wished the bathroom was on the same floor as it.

Going up and down, you tend to pick up on other things too.

"-Is something the matter?"

"Ms Lowe." The doctor tried to find the right words. "I got your blood results... You have acute myeloid leukemia. It's...a type of blood cancer."

"...How can that be? I'm...healthy. Fit."

"These things can be unpredictable. Usually develops later in the years and can be sudden."

"But I'm fine, right? It's no big deal."

Denial. Her voice was a little high-pitched at the end.

"Ms Lowe, you need to understand that this is an acute leukemia. It progresses rapidly and can be fatal within weeks or months if left untreated."

The woman fell silent.

"I can recommend you few good oncologists to help you. You'll also need intense treatment and chemotherapy... It'll be difficult but I've known patients to live longer than expected – Ms Lowe?"

With that, the woman just got up and bolted from the officer. Not a single word.

Worst news of her life. I knew the feeling.

I whipped right back into my father's office. He was already greeting another man and his son just as they came in, both redheads.

"And how are you today, Baxter?"

That name. Kelly's foster brother.

The man beside Baxter was in a wheelchair. Kelly's foster father was handicapped.

I was actually surprised that Kelly's doctor was my father. Then again, it wasn't like Dad would tell me about his patients. But my dad knew Kelly's parents well enough since Tom used to visit the community centre her mom worked at.

Baxter didn't say a word. No eye contact to my dad.

"Those are nasty bruises on you, Baxter. Did something happen?"

Again nothing. Crossed arms. Angry, tired face like Baxter just got out of a fight.

I knew Baxter a bit. Other than that he was Kelly's brother, he was in the same Geography class as me. Two years younger and kept to himself mostly.

Come to think about it, Baxter's been more isolated lately.

"The school nurse told me he slipped and fell in the bathroom. Wouldn't let her examine him."

"That's what happened," Baxter said bitterly.

"Hm, I see." My father didn't buy it. "So was it the sink that gave you a black eye?"

Nothing.

My father laughed, breaking the tension. "The floor must have been terribly wet then. Was there a sign before you went in?"

"I don't know... Maybe."

"I see. Alright, then. I'm just going to step out to get something for those injuries. Your father will help me too. Joseph?" Dad motioned him to the door.

With that, Kelly's dad and my dad walked out the room.

"Has Baxter been like this?" Dad asked, concerned.

"Since Kelly ran away. Yes."

"I've heard about your daughter, Joseph. Sorry to hear that."

Kelly's dad smiled weakly. "It's been rough on all of us... But we're hopeful Kelly will come back."

"I hope so too. Has Baxter been getting into trouble lately?"

"Not that I know of. Why?"

"Those injuries don't look accidental."

Kelly's dad grimaced worriedly. "You think he's been fighting someone? Baxter's a good kid. He'd never hurt anyone."

"He may be feeling bitter because of Kelly's disappearance. Has he talked about it since she ran away?"

Kelly's dad sighed. "No. But I know he misses Kelly just as much as we do. They were inseparable. But he wouldn't result to fighting because of his sister."

"Children can be stressed out when something dramatic happens in their life. They'd do something just to take their frustration out on it. It's not your fault for not seeing this. Kids just don't want to admit anything that's bothering them to their parents."

Like me...only I have reasons for that.

"I know my kids well. Any parent would know their kids better than anyone."

"Yeah." My father sighed. "I wish that can be said the same for me."

I kinda felt ashamed. The things Dad could learn about his two sons. Finding out they aren't what they seem. Yeah, he knew us better than any parents but not the things we've done and been doing.

If there was an opportunity for me to reveal everything, I'd tell him right away. All hands down.

I didn't care if he'd be mad. I'd still tell him.

He smiled again at Kelly's father, realizing he had said more than he had wanted. "In any case, you should bring Baxter to see a therapist. This may be more emotional than medical."

Kelly's father became uneasy. "I don't know. Child therapy? Won't that be hard for him?"

"If he doesn't talk to someone about dealing with this, he may get worse. Emotionally and socially."

Kelly's dad sighed. Defeated. I'd kinda understand. Even I wouldn't want to go spill my guts out to a complete stranger.

"My son, Tom, is a member of the Sharing. He's always told me how helpful they are with troubled kids. Might be a good idea to have him join."

I tensed. Bad idea. Really bad idea!

"I think the Sharing may be out of the question," Kelly's dad laughed. "My wife still believes they're out to close down her centre."

"Ah. I see. Well, everyone has their opinions, I suppose. But I understand. I'd be mad if I was losing my patients to some other doctor that's better than me."

I relaxed. Didn't want to add saving Baxter from being a Controller on the list I had.

After what Kelly had shouted that night at the barn, I wouldn't want the possibility of having your family member taken away to be predicted. Whether it was me or the others.

Kelly's dad shrugged his shoulders. "Caitlin's tough going. She loves the centre and won't give up on it."

Dad nodded with a smirk. "Still, you should bring Baxter to see a therapist. If not, try having some more family time together. See if that will get him to talk."

"Alright. We'll do that."

"I'll pass you a number of a friend I know and some brochures to help deal with this kind of thing. I can patch Baxter up and give painkillers. But that's all I can do."

"Yes. Thank you."

The men walked back into the office. Dad tended to Baxter's injuries, wipes and bandages for the small cuts and then writing the prescription for the painkillers. He then passed two brochures to Kelly's dad and searched for the phone number.

He frowned after two combs over his desk.

"Sorry. I must have left my notebook back in my car. Hang on, I'll be right back."

Quickly, I jumped back into the cuff before he was out the door.

Out for more possible danger.

(_Ok, guys, we're moving towards you. My dad's picking up something he left in the car,_) I called.

(_Hey, Jake?_) Tobias said worriedly. (_Uh, I don't know if this means anything but Erek's is here, at the entrance._)

(_Erek?_) I called. (_What's he doing here?_)

(_Hang on. I'll be back quickly._)

I was still edgy but we were stretched thin. (_Go. Maybe he found out where that Chee and the man are._)

(_Prince Jake. I believe the large human with the facial fur is back._)

(_Which floor?_) I asked, although I already knew.

The one my father was parked on, of course.

Ax confirmed it.

Hesitate at the door. Then we were outside.

My antennae quivered at the change in the air.

No time to demorph and remorph. If the bearded guy was part of an attack, I was useless.

Nothing but a roach in a cuff.

(_Ax?_)

(_Yes,_) Ax said. (_I am by your father's vehicle._)

(_Guys, I think we have a problem. Erek just told me that the signal from last night? It's here too._)

The interference signal? (_What do you mean it's here?_)

(_I mean the Chee is here. In this building._)

Cockroaches don't have bones. Not even a spine. But I was already feeling chills.

The covert Chee was there. And that could also mean the man with the shades was there too.

(_The Chee is infiltrating with the cameras in the building. He's seeing everything inside and outside._)

And the man could disguise as any kind of person.

Who could also be disguised as a tall, angry bearded man.

(_Erek ran inside to find the other Chee._)

Tobias' words just seemed to phase right out of me.

Why was he here? What did he want with Dad?

(_Prince Jake, what should we do? The human with the facial fur is getting closer._)

That man targeted my dad's car. Not any other car. His. And he was accompanied by a Chee before. And they had a connection with Elias.

It wasn't a coincidence.

Why was he after my father?

(_Prince Jake._)

(_...I-Is there any place you can morph without being seen?_) I asked.

(_I have been demorphing behind a large trash receptacle in the alley behind this structure; however, I cannot get back from there to my present position without being seen,_) Ax replied. (_Should I proceed?_)

I didn't know.

If an Andalite suddenly arrived on the scene to save my father, the Yeerks would put two and two together, realize someone close to Tom - like his little brother - knew about his plan, and the Animorphs would be dead.

But in our present morphs, we'd be helpless.

And this man, if he really was connected to Elias...

Then what did that mean? Friend or foe?

Why Dad?

What did this have to do with Elias?

What should I do?

Lose everyone?

Or just my father?

(_Prince Jake, do you have any instructions for me?_)

(_Jake. Make the call, man._)

My family or my friends.

Save one man or save the world.

I was a bug! I couldn't save anyone.

An overt rescue would save my dad and doom us all. Including him.

(_Jake!_)

I snapped out of it.

(_What's happening now?_) I asked.

(_Your father is walking toward his car,) Ax said. (The man with the facial fur is following him._)

(_How close?_)

(_He's about four feet behind your dad_), Tobias said. He was tense. (_And closing fast._)

I scampered up and out of the cuff. Onto the pant leg. Around to the back of the knee. The fabric crinkled with each step. I was horizontal, with the ground on my right. I couldn't see far enough to be sure, but there seemed to be a large, dark wall moving in behind my father. (_Am I looking at him?_)

(_Yes,_) Ax said.

Okay. Fine. I might be in a bug's body but I still had a human brain.

I hauled a left and went vertical. Up the pants. Onto the jacket. Up the jacket. Zooming at roach speed along a vertical plane of dry wool fibers.

I came to a stop on the slope of a shoulder. An ear the size of Nantucket loomed above me.

Closer. The dark wall was coming closer. I could almost see a face, a blur, a bristling mass bigger than a rain cloud.

(_Jake, what're you doing?_) Tobias asked sharply.

(_I'm doing what a roach does best,_) I said.

(_What?_)

(_Grossing people out and making them say..._)

I motored. I cranked open the roach's almost useless wings. I flew straight for that beard.

"Aaaahhhhh!" the man yelled.

I landed on his lower lip. The tiny hairs on my legs caught and clung.

He spit. A hurricane explosion of wind!

But I was down on his chin hairs now, walking gingerly from split hair to split hair, like I was tiptoeing across treetops.

"Ugh! Ugh! A beetle!" the man shouted. We began to spin and whirl. He slapped his own face. "Get it off me!"

I zigged left. Then right.

Motored toward his ear. Little roach feet tickled waxy ear skin.

He went wild.

I kept going, on up to his head. Onto thick, matted hair.

"What the heck ..." I heard my father say in astonishment. "Excuse me, sir, but are you all right?"

Go! I wanted to tell him. Run, Dad! Run for your life!

(_On our way, Jake!_) Tobias yelled.

(_NO!_) I yelled. (_Back off! Back off!_)

Suddenly, the air rushed and shimmered with the swoosh of wings.

"Tseeeeeer!" Tobias swooped down, talons extended. I caught an indistinct but terrifying flash of ripping talons.

"Aaaahhh! Aaaahhh!" the man yelled. He was literally beating at his face with one hand to kill me and waving the other in the air to fight off the lunatic hawk and the insane seagull.

Quite suddenly, I realized I was no longer on the man. I was on his hair. But I was not on the man anymore.

The hair... the toupee...was in Tobias's talons being carried off like a doomed mouse.

(_I'm going to circle back for-_) Tobias began.

(_No! No!_) I yelled, angry. (_We might as well tattoo "The Animorphs were here" on the guy's head! Stay back. Don't attack unless you see the beard move to attack._)

(_Oh. Yeah._)

(_This is not an attack,_) Ax said. (_Your father and the man with the facial fur are making mouth-sounds. If this were a Yeerk attack they would not be making mouth-sounds together._)

(_Drop the rug,_) I instructed Tobias.

He did. The toupee hit the concrete and the man snatched it up and slapped it back on his head. I dropped out before he did and, with Tobias's help, headed in the direction of my dad.

"The bird's gone, the roach is gone, you're okay," my father said soothingly.

"Forget the stupid bug! Forget the stupid, stupid bird!" the man yelled.

He was clearly upset. A hawk had seemingly attempted to grab a cockroach off his head and ended up flying off with his toupee. That's the kind of thing that will put you in a bad mood.

Then came the demanding question if that was my father's car in the lane.

This had all been about a parking spot.

Just one man was just angry that someone had been taking his spot.

(_I do not believe this man is a Controller,_) Ax said.

(_What was your first clue, Ax-man?_) Tobias said.

(_My first clue is the fact that this human is not-_)

(_It was a rhetorical question,_) Tobias said.

(_Ah._)

No attack. An argument over a parking space. Funny, really.

Except that I was still left fighting the losing, defensive battle.

Worse, I had frozen. Tobias and Ax had asked for orders and I had frozen. Because I had frozen, they'd made the wrong move.

My fault, not theirs. I was in charge, they'd asked me what to do.

I'd hesitated. I'd had no answer. No harm, this time. But if the attack had been real?

(_Jake, he's heading back to the elevator._)

The argument was over. Dad chose to ignore. After all, he had important things to do than argue over parking spots.

I jumped back into the cuff.

(_Prince Jake, the elderly human is back too. At the elevator. He looks distressed for some reason._)

(_The old guy with the cane?_) Tobias repeated.

"Sir, are you alright?" my father asked.

"Oh, why am I here again? I can't remember," the old man admitted.

"You're at the hospital."

"Hospital...? Oh, right. I was here for a...check-up. Yes. I'm sorry. The mind is a terrible thing to waste."

"Ah. I see. It's alright, sir. Here. Let me help you. Which floor were you supposed to go?"

"Floor, um... It's the tip of my tongue."

"Don't worry. We'll ask reception to help you."

"Thank you, young man. It's really nice to see that chivalry isn't dead. These days now, youngsters just take it for granted."

(_It's ok. Just an old man with dementia,_) I said. (_Stand back for now._)

(_Right._)

My father and the old man walked into the elevator. Two minutes later, we were on the ground floor, Dad leading the old man to the administrator desk. The old man then thanked him, suddenly remembering which floor and walked away, whistling a tune I've never heard of.

"Wait, I can explain!"

That was Erek's voice.

"If I catch you disturbing the patients, I'll make sure your parents hear about it! Now get!" A woman's voice. No doubt a nurse.

Guess he had just as much trouble as we did.

My fault too.

After that, my father returned to his office. Gave Kelly's dad the phone number and called in the next patient.

Once I was sure the next patient was ok, I crept out to look for Erek. Told the others to pass a message to him and meet me at the back.

"This Chee was clever. He got the signal and me bouncing around the building. I thought I had him at the end but it was patient's room. And around scrubbing time."

"Ouch."

Erek frowned miserably. "This the first time I've been tricked. And by someone from my own kind."

Like how we had to deal with our kind being Controllers.

Like me with my brother.

"Were you able to find out more about this Chee?"

"Other than he's good, nothing. I've been spending since last night just finding where it came from. Then suddenly, it just...turned on three hours ago." Erek searched for a box to turn over and placed his laptop he had been carrying the whole time on top. "Even messed up my computer with a virus."

"It sounds like this Chee doesn't want you to know. Was there a Chee that weren't on good terms with anyone of you?"

"No. We're not detached from each other and I couldn't imagine – Huh."

"What?" I asked.

"I don't remember this folder before."

I glanced over his shoulder. On his desktop was just like any other. School homework assignments, icons to the internet, Paint, Microsoft and Minesweeper.

But one lone folder was placed right in the middle instead of the sides. Like a need-to-see.

Titled MM.

"It's not yours, Erek?" I asked.

"No and I would know... I have a feeling he gave me more than just a virus."

"Click on it."

He did as he was told. Inside was a notepad file and three picture files.

Two taps and the notepad opened.

My eyes bugged out.

Erek read the first line.

"'No one is watching Kelly'?"

He tensed up. Looked at me, worried.

"'Leave surveillance to us. Find her.'"

Us? Who was 'us'?

I didn't have to ask him to open the pictures.

The files were photos, taken at an angle that looked like it was from above. It was just showing streets but among the by-passers, one stood out. Because she was a kid and short. Didn't matter if she had pulled over her hoodie to conceal her face.

That was Kelly in the photos. All of them.

"Wait. What's she doing out in the open?"

"Erek, what's that?" I pointed at the background of one photo.

"Looks like a bakery."

I gazed up. I could make out a bakery not too far away.

"That's across the street from here."

Kelly was there. Why? What was she doing there?

Unless...she had a good reason to be there. She knew Ax, Tobias and I'd be watching out for my father. She could have gone to warn us about another vision

And yet, she didn't. Couldn't reach us.

"Kelly. Something happened to her," I uttered.

"Then we need to find her."

Which meant leaving my dad alone.

I couldn't.

My father was important to me.

But Kelly... She makes a bigger risk than anything, Marco would have told me.

The reason for her being here was because of Elias. She changed the past so Kelly could exist. Elias had personally asked me to enlist her into our team. For the purpose of protecting her.

If something were to happen to Kelly, a lot of things could happen. Unpredictable things.

Time could be altered. Everything Elias did in the past would vanish.

One mistake and Kelly would be gone forever.

My dad or Kelly?

I couldn't pick. I just couldn't!

"Jake," Erek snapped me out. "Don't worry. I'll watch over your father. And I know some friends who work nearby. We got this covered."

I was still reluctant to go. "How? You just got kicked out."

"I'll figure something out. You know how we Chee work."

I knew. I knew. And they've always covered for us. Practically disguised as us when we sneaked out for missions.

I couldn't ask the Chee to find Kelly. Only Erek knew about the situation last week. But with the kind of ordeal Kelly carried...it was a lot bigger than just a simple search.

"Ok. Tell us immediately if the Yeerks are after him."

"Deal."

I morphed into the falcon and called Ax to follow. Tobias to back Erek out.

We soared back to Kelly's campsite. I told her that if anything bad happened, she was to stay there and wait for us. No questions asked. And she agreed.

But there was a reason why she wasn't there.

The campsite was ruined.

Like something went through with it with claws and blades.

(_Oh no,_) I gasped.

We landed on the ground.

(_This does not look like the work of a Yeerk,_) Ax assured me but his voice was shaky.

We quickly demorphed. Shouted her name.

Nothing.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

My heart raced.

"Kelly!" I yelled.

(_Kelly!_)

I heard a whine. Soft and weak.

I rushed to the broken tent and pulled the fabric away.

Horatio was lying on the ground.

"Hey boy, you ok?" I kneeled down. Kelly's dog just looked at me with those soft brown eyes.

Then I felt something wet when I patted him.

I looked at my hand.

Blood.

Horatio was injured.

"...Ax, get Cassie!" I yelled.

(_Y-Yes._) He went off.

Again, I called out to Kelly.

Nothing.

My head was spinning with the possibilities. I was panicking while trying to stop Horatio from bleeding out.

She was gone. Nowhere to be found. The Yeerks couldn't have acted so fast. If they were still after her since last week, we'd have known.

What happened to you, Kelly?

* * *

Vickie: Oh, did I put Kelly into another situation that has to do with the Yeerks? And with no Elias to help the Animorphs this time round?

Don't worry, I'm not that evil. And it would REALLY be a pain if I make it that doing something threatening to Kelly that could screw up the alterations. Even I wouldn't know how to build a plot that the Animorphs could do a mistake that reedits Elias' alterations.

…Unless it's a Sario Rip or a deal with Ellimist/Crayak, I guess. Maybe. I don't know, doing plots on time-traveling and time alteration tend to hurt my brain. Example A: The Alteration. X_x

So what happened to Kelly? Is it the Yeerks after her or something much bigger? We'll have to see in the next chapter. So I'll cya you all again. :D Hope you enjoy this chapter and r'n'r!


	9. Nine

**NINE**

Horatio was Kelly's pet. A good dog like Homer, protective over her and tough. He literally stood up against one of Visser Three's big morphs too, just to protect his owner.

But to find him bleeding and without Kelly, it made me all the more uneasy.

Luckily, Cassie had left school early.

She took care of Horatio. Nothing life-threatening but if I hadn't been around, Horatio would have kicked the bucket from the blood loss.

Now was the problem of Kelly gone missing.

Ax went out to gather the others. Rachel and Marco were able to slip out of school with some excuses and we all met back at the barn to find her.

But as you know it, Marco told me to step down. Wait until Tobias was at my house.

I was supposed to be sick in bed. Not helping them look for Kelly. If I were to leave my house, Tom could figure out something was up.

I was helpless. No choice but to let the others look for her.

I was the first person among our team that Elias approached. The first to tell me that she was future Kelly, to convince me to have Kelly join us.

I felt like I was failing her and Kelly. I was supposed to be the leader here. Elias gave me the responsibility to protect Kelly's wellbeing. And not just because of our secrets and hers.

Thanks to me, I was too caught up with my problems that Kelly got herself into trouble.

And what kind of trouble?

I went back home.

My dad pulled into the garage and I scampered away. I demorphed behind the garage and raced up to my room.

I beat my dad inside. See, I knew his routine. When he comes home he walks down to the curb to check the mail and stands there going through it muttering, "Junk...junk...okay, magazine...junk."

I was in my bed in seconds. Covers up to my chin. Playing sick.

"Jake?"

My door opened. Tom stuck his head into the room.

"What?" I croaked, having a heart failure. I hadn't realized he was home. Had he been home while I'd been demorphing? "When did you get home?"

"What are you doing? Faking sick?"

The Yeerk in his head played the role. Said the words Tom would have said.

I played my role, too. "Yeah. Wanted to stay home and watch Jerry Springer."

"Uh-huh."

"I'm feeling better now, though. I think I'll get up."

He gave me a disgusted look and left. I climbed out of bed and got dressed.

But that feeling in my gut was still there. I was struck here to keep up appearance while everyone was out there. All I could was hope they'd find her.

Dinner was chicken soup for me. To "soothe" my upset stomach. My father and brother wolfed down Chinese food.

"Has Mom said anything about when the funeral will take place?" I asked.

"I talked to her. The funeral's on Monday so we're still going there Saturday. About nine, so you boys pack tomorrow and don't forget your suits," my father said, missing Tom's sudden, black scowl. "After the funeral, we'll be leaving for home Tuesday morning."

Tom shoved back his chair.

"I'm done," he said, rising and stalking off.

My dad studiously ignored him. "Well, I'm gonna go out and water the lawn one last time before we leave."

"I'll load the dishwasher," I offered, rising.

I rinsed the plates, watching through the window as my father dragged the hose from the backyard to the front.

The house was so quiet. The air so still.

Tom had disappeared into his room.

I pressed my face to the window, leaving a nose smear, and searched the sky until I spotted Tobias gliding high above.

Keeping watch, though I hadn't asked him to.

He looked so free out there.

So calm and confident.

I straightened. Looked around.

And made my decision.

Five minutes, I thought, hurrying up to my room and locking the door behind me. I'll do a five-minute, aerial surveillance. Just enough flying to get hold of myself again. Reassure myself. I'm no good to anybody if I can't think straight.

I had to trust on Marco's word that Kelly would be alright.

I stripped down to my bike shorts, opened the window, and concentrated on my peregrine falcon morph.

A lacy pattern rose and spread across my skin, softening into feathers.

My fingers melted together to form wing tips as my guts gurgled, slithered, and shifted.

My skull ground and shrunk. My vision sharpened. I zoomed downward, falling, shrinking, wobbling on suddenly skinny, stick legs.

The breeze drifted in the window.

I flapped my wings and hopped up to the sill. Weird. After all this time the idea of jumping out of the second-floor window still bothered me. I was still human, still scared of heights, still not sure my wings would work. I wondered if Tobias ever felt that way.

I spread my wings and took off, swooping down across the backyard, taking care to stay away from Tom's bedroom window.

I caught a slight headwind, just enough to fill my wings, and began to work for altitude.

(_Is that you, Jake?_) Tobias called cautiously.

(_Yeah, I figured I'd join you for a couple of minutes,_) I said, levelling off and drifting along on an air current. My falcon eyes could see everything, including a mouse scurrying along the neighbor's fence.

An electrician's van parked on the opposite road of my house.

And my dad watering the lawn.

(_How's it going?_) I asked Tobias.

(_I'm getting very little lift in this air,_) he complained.

I smiled to myself. A typical Tobias answer.

(_How's it going with you?_) he asked.

(_Tense,_) I admitted. (_It's very tense down there. My dad, Tom, armed camps, man. And me in the middle. With the rest of the team out scouting for Kelly._)

(_No word about her?_)

(_No. Her campsite was torn down and her dog was injured._)

That was supposed to be her safe zone. Her dog was like a war dog to her.

The suspect? The Yeerks maybe. Followed her to her campsite. Gunned down Horatio so he wouldn't be a threat. And terrified Kelly to either run or fight.

That was the only thing she could do. She had no morphing power. Only her _Taliths_.

(_If I let Kelly get hurt because of me, I'll never forgive myself._)

Tobias didn't say anything. I looked at him. He was higher than me, maybe two hundred yards off.

(_Tobias?_)

No answer.

(_Tobias! What's–_)

(_Chapman! It is him. I couldn't be sure in this light. Six blocks from your house. Him driving, some other guy in the passenger seat._)

I followed the direction of his gaze. A dark car, large, four-door. I focused my gaze. Was the passenger holding something?

(_I don't like the feel of this,_) I said.

(_No,_) Tobias agreed.

(_My dad-_)

(_Gun!_) Tobias yelled. (_The passenger. He's got a gun!_)

I was in a stoop before Tobias had finished the sentence.

They were going to pull a drive-by. It was insane. A shooting in broad daylight? Just how important was Tom to the Yeerks? This was reckless!

I was falling...no, not falling. I was a rocket on a collision course with Earth. Aimed like a cruise missile for my own house.

The car turned one street closer to mine.

I flared my wings to brake. The hurricane of wind nearly broke them. I strained every muscle, spread every feather. I landed, skidding on the back side of the roof.

No time to demorph inside.

I'd just have to take my chances out here, tucked into the shadowy corner. I began to de-morph.

(_Jake, what are you doing! ?_) Tobias cried.

I could have answered. I didn't. Tobias knew what I was doing.

(_This is stupid, Jake, but I'll cover your butt anyway,_) Tobias said. (_Don't see anyone watching you. Possible line of sight to the house behind and to the left. There's a little girl near her window._)

My feathers melted. My arms fattened. My beak softened like it was melting. I had to scramble to hold on with talons that were becoming stubby human toes.

(_Here comes Chapman,_) Tobias reported grimly.

NO!

Demorph! Demorph! Demorph!

Toes...hands...face...

"Aaahhh!" I yelled in surprise.

Suddenly, I was sliding down the steep roof toward the edge.

(_Jake! Your brother's right there in the kitchen on the phone!_) Tobias shouted. (_If you come down on that side, he's gonna see you!_)

My fingers scrabbled across the rough shingles for a handhold but it was no use. My fingernails were practically liquid.

I was falling.

Over the edge!

Desperate, I grabbed the sharp, metal gutter.

Dangled. Arms stretched. I tried to haul my legs up, out of view.

(_Tom hasn't seen you yet,_) Tobias said. (_He's got his back to the window. But Chapman is twenty seconds away. It's now or never._)

Tom's voice drifted out through the window.

"Perfect timing," he said coldly. "He's out front alone. Go for it."

I dropped, hit the grass with a dull thud, and gritted my teeth to stay quiet. I crawled past the window, then shot to my feet and tore around the house.

A dark car was turning onto my block. A hundred yards away. Fifty.

"Hey, Dad." I limped over to him, sweating, heart thundering. "Let me do that."

I took the hose.

My dad smiled. "Volunteering, huh? So, what is it you want?"

Twenty yards!

"Just wanted to get outside. Fresh air," I said.

"Uh-huh. Well, thanks, then."

He turned. Too slowly! He walked. Too slowly!

The car was there.

The window was down.

The gunman was staring at my father's back.

I was about to jerk the hose.

_BANG!_

I jumped.

Was I too late?

The car honked.

"I'm sorry. Very sorry. Didn't see you there."

I relaxed. It was really lucky that happened.

I didn't actually see it. But the electrician had just stepped out of his van, equipment and papers. Right as he walked across the street, he was nearly run over by the car.

The gunman yanked back in surprise.

Dropped his toolbox on the road.

Dad glanced over at the sound.

"Hey, are you alright?"

The electrician simply picked up his stuff, and tilted his cap apologetically. "Sorry. Sorry." He turned to my dad. "Hello, I'm here for the electrical repairs you requested."

Dad looked at him. Confused. "Repairs? I didn't call for any fix-up."

The car passed by.

I breathed. My hands were shaking. My heart was a jackhammer.

I pretended to suddenly recognize Mr. Chapman as the car pulled away. "Hey, Mr. Chapman!" I waved.

"Your vice principal?" Dad asked.

"Yeah. Must have been passing by," I quickly replied.

"Sir? If you would be so kindly, can you show me the problem?" the electrician asked my father politely.

"Sorry, there must be some mistake. I didn't call for an electrician."

"No, there's no mistake. I have the papers here. And this is your address, correct?" The electrician showed the papers.

My dad jerked his head back. "Yes, that's my address but I never made a request."

"Are you sure?" The electrician looked worried, examining his papers again. "But I followed the address. It says specific this house. How am I going to explain to my boss?"

"Look. How about I call your company and have this cleared up?"

"Ah, yes, yes. Thank you. Thank you very much. Here's the number."

I watched my father and the electrician enter the house. I was tensed at first but thought that if the electrician had been a Controller, he wouldn't have accidentally stopped the gunman from firing.

I felt someone watching me. I spared a quick glance. Tom.

He was framed in our living room window. His eyes burned with rage.

He'd have killed me, too. He would have had my dad gunned down and if I'd gotten in the way...

And that wasn't the worst of it. Worse was knowing that my brother Tom, my true brother, had been trapped inside his own mind, trapped watching as the killers prepared to murder his family. Helpless, watching, unable to open his own mouth to shout a warning.

I was clenching the hose so tightly the water was petering out. But I couldn't relax the muscles. Could not.

I don't know how this war will turn out. Don't know if we'll win or lose or even, somehow, compromise and make peace. Even if we got a few hints about the future.

David, the future version, he died from a poison by Elias. Before he succumbed to it, he was sprouting out how we'd all end up.

I found out I died...saving Elias from something devastating. I died so I could escape my grief...

That I'd send Rachel to her own death somewhere in the future.

I had asked Elias. Will everything David said come true?

Frankly...she didn't know.

She only said one thing.

Don't be like her...

I literally don't know how it'll go. Will the war turn out to be like the one Elias' been through? All of us dead with her the last, sent on her mission to eh past? Or will it be different?

I know one thing: I will kill the Yeerk who has done this to my brother.

I will kill him.

_Don't go in blind._

I sighed. There it was again. Kelly's words.

I was really losing it. Either I completely ignored her and lunge at my brother or I tried to think rationally. To save him.

If Elias was alive, I would already picture just how disappointed she'd be at me. The grown-up emotionless version of Kelly.

Ten, fifteen minutes, I was done with the lawn. I went back in, expecting the mess-up to be done.

Instead at the phone like expected, I found them at the TV in the living room. The electrician behind the back, fiddling with the wires.

"Are you sure? It was just a printing mistake the office made," Dad said. "You don't have to do this and for free too."

"No, no. I just budged right in with this problem. I should have checked before I drove all the way here. It's no trouble at all. Take it as my sincere apology."

"Dad, did something happen?" I asked.

"Oh, no. It was all just a mistake but Mr Jerome here wanted to offer his service for it."

"No charge asked, boy. It's good to be humble to others, even when you've made a fault yourself," the electrician said with a hum. "Makes it easier to forgive yourself for it. I have a granddaughter and I've always made it a habit to her that chivalry isn't dead. Nowadays, youngsters forget about manners or important things in life. All their music and long online chats. Such as shame the old days are gone."

"My oldest son could learn a thing or two from you," Dad groaned.

"There we go." The electrician, Mr Jerome shifted the TV back to the wall and hit the on button.

The screen turned on.

"See? Short and simple. No fuss, no worry."

My father's eyes bulged. Amazed.

Crystal clear, fully colored. None of those annoying static lines and blurs that used to flash every few minutes or so. All the reasons that Dad was thinking about getting a new TV.

Even I was surprised.

"It looks brand new again," my dad gasped.

"It's nothing, really. Just an easy tuning and readjusting the wires."

"I should at least pay you for this."

"No, no. It's just a small task. Nothing to throw a parade over. I'm happy to have done something. At my age, it's always good to use your hands." Packed up his tools, tidied his cap, the electrician got up and smiled merrily. "My work's done. It was a pleasure meeting you."

"Yes, you too, Mr Jerome." Dad shook his hand.

The electrician wheeled to me as he headed for the door, taking his cap off and placing it on my head.

I looked at him like he was senile. Sure, getting a cap would be cool but only if it was a baseball cap, signed by a popular player.

He shook his head silently, still merrily smiling. Wanting me to keep it.

"Good day to you too, my boy." With that, the electrician walked out of the house, whistling to himself cheerfully.

Now that I think of it, his tune sounded a little like the old man's whistle back at the hospital.

Must be a favorite song old people liked.

If I could, I'd shake his hand for being at the right time.

"Dad, I'm done with the lawn."

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Thanks, Jake. Can't wait to see how surprised your mom will be to see the TV. I mean, it looks like the day we bought it."

I rolled my eyes. Well, at least he'd be distracted with the evening shows. No excuse to go out when the sports channel looked so vivid.

I headed upstairs to my room. Shut my door and waited.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Nothing.

(_Everything ok on your side?_)

"Yeah," I said after I was absolutely sure I wasn't listened in. "Thank god that guy was there when it happened."

(_The car drove off down several streets. Didn't make a u-turn so I think they've given up today._)

Good for today. But what about tonight? Tomorrow? Or the day after?

The Yeerks wouldn't give up no matter what. And they were getting desperate to do a gunshot at broad daylight.

Now was a good time to ask Kelly what would happen next. And she was missing.

"This day just couldn't get worse."

(_It was really crazy of you to pull that off. You could have been seen._)

"But I wasn't seen," I said without stopping myself. "It was either me or my dad."

(_Jake, I'm not saying you had to choose over your dad but you could have done another way._)

"I did what I had to do." I took off the cap and was about to toss it away.

I stopped, noticing a crumbled, folded piece of paper.

The electrician must have forgotten it.

I don't know what possessed me to pick it up and open it instead of hurrying out the house and giving it back to him.

Maybe I was just curious.

I was having déjà vu all over again when I opened it.

Leave surveillance to us. Find her.

Ar't.

It was handwritten this time. Not a digital note but it was the same message.

Only this note was signed by someone.

I heard Tobias sighed. (_Oh, is Marco going to have a field day with this. That's if he hasn't found Kelly and doing the same to her yet._)

I found this note in the electrician's hat. And this was purposely to us.

This was telling us to look for Kelly.

"Tobias, did you see where did the electrician go?"

(_Uh, yeah. To his van. Drove down four blocks to another house. Why?_)

"I think Elias' people are close by. Watching my dad."

(_What?_)

"He was in my house just now to do a fix-up. He gave me this hat and I found a note. 'Leave surveillance to us. Find her. Ar't.'"

(_Isn't that the same message as the one Erek got?_)

"Yeah..." I put two and two together. Never felt so alarmingly surprised before. "I think that electrician is the mysterious Chee."

(_Should I go after him?_)

"No, no. Not yet... He was at the hospital and my home. Right under our noses."

I looked at the name again.

Ar't.

We now knew the name of the Chee. And he was connected to Elias.

How? And why? Did Elias tell him about a future event that he had to keep watch? I couldn't pass the thought she'd have the same vision as Kelly's.

"Elias knew. She knew this would happen."

(_And you think she got this friend of hers to help out? Prepared everything if it came to that?_) Tobias asked. (_This is sounding more like that Early Edition TV show Ax's been watching lately._)

"Well, as crazy as it sounds, even I'd believe that."

(_But can we trust this Chee? Erek doesn't even know him._)

That was a good question. But shouldn't we with someone who knew Elias?

I heard Dad shout from downstairs. Telling me a kid wanted to talk to me on the phone.

"My dad's calling me."

(_Tom just left too._) No doubt going to see Chapman to make another plan.

"Be right back."

I went out my room and downstairs.

"Thanks, Dad." He passed me the living phone and went back to the TV, smiling. "Hello?"

"Jake?"

I stopped.

Kelly.

Thankfully, Tom wasn't around so that was good. But then again, her calling my house whose doctor was my dad...

"Hey. What's up?" I took the phone with me, heading to the kitchen.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't call anyone. Everyone was out. I didn't tell your dad it was me."

I glanced over, just to be sure Dad wouldn't pop up from his armchair and stumble on my call.

At least, he was cheering up with some TV show on. And it didn't look like he'd recognized Kelly's voice.

"Kelly, what happened?" I whispered. "Your campsite was destroyed and Horatio's at the barn, injured."

"Horatio? Is he ok?"

"Yeah. Nothing bad," I assured her. "What happened, Kelly?"

"I don't know. I had another vision and I went to warn you guys. There was no one around so I had to go look for you."

"So you went to my dad's building."

"Yeah. It happened so fast. I don't know how they knew."

"Them, right?"

"Yeah," Kelly said. I clenched my teeth. Yeerks. "I'm so sorry. I thought I had this covered. I don't know how they figured out. But I think I lost them."

She must have been trying to stay hidden until the Yeerks would give up. She had done that before.

If only one of us had stayed behind with her. She wouldn't have to leave her campsite just to warn us.

All because we put all our efforts on surveillance.

"Jake?"

"Yeah. I'm still here. Where are you now?" I asked.

"I-I'm at a payphone. Near the mall. Jake, I didn't mean for this to happen."

"It's ok, Kelly. It's not your fault." My fault you got into this mess, I wanted to tell her. This was my fault. All my fault. "The others are looking for you from the air. You need to get somewhere for them to see you."

No answer.

"Kelly?"

I could hear her voice quiver. "I see them. They're coming."

"Kelly, wait-"

The phone died. She hung up.

Damn it. Damn it!

I was ready to rip my hair out. I was panicking. The situation was getting bigger. A lot harder for me to handle.

Just like last week. Everything with Elias and Kelly.

Calm down, I told myself. Calm down.

"Tobias, you heard?"

(_Yeah. What have she gotten herself into?_)

"We'll find out what later. We need to find her. Now."

(_So what's the plan? Get the others?_)

And leave my dad alone?

Pick between Dad and Kelly...

Why couldn't anything be easy?

Any second longer we left Kelly out there was a second shorter that she'd be on her way to being locked up in a cage at a Yeerk pool again.

I clutched my hands tight. Feeling something paper in my left hand.

I had forgotten about the note.

I gazed at it again. The electrician, the Chee was watching over my house. My dad.

Could he handle it? This was the Yeerks we're talking about. The Chee are a race of androids. Pacifist by design. But definitely anti-Yeerk. The ultimate spies. Our friends. At least as much as a nearly eternal machine can ever be a friend to a weak, short-lived human.

They weren't fighters.

So how did this Chee makes any difference? Just because he was using Elias' technology, didn't mean he could fight the Yeerks. He wasn't even in contact with any Chee.

But he did manage to go unnoticeable, even by us and Erek. He did stop a gunman from shooting my dad.

Was I really going to trust someone else?

(_Jake?_)

I must have been mad to decide the next thing.

"I can't believe I'm leaving my father's life in the hands of strangers." I then dialled a number.

Listened to its ringing until it clicked.

"Erek, hey. Sorry, I need you to cover me again."

* * *

Vickie: Do know that I am not supportive of animal death in any fiction. Don't like it a lot. And no way is Horatio leaving this story that easily. He's a smart dog! And heck, he has an important role too.

And looks like Jake's getting help from those in the shadows, who've worked with Elias. Who and what they are is still a mystery. Something big of a secret Elias kept will be revealed much later in the story. And what? Well we'll find out soon enough.

With that, I end this author note. I'll cya all in the next chapter. And I promise you one thing, it'll be a twist. :) Enjoy and r'n'r!


	10. Ten

**TEN**

After I called Erek, I morphed into a falcon and took off. Tobias went ahead to gather the others.

Kelly'd said she was at a payphone near the mall. There were a lot inside the shopping building but I knew there were three payphones at walking distance.

So which one?

I circled about, from one payphone to another. It was only ten minutes since she called me and six since I left the house. Kelly'd be long gone, trying to shake the Yeerks off her tail as best as she could.

She was almost inches away from a Yeerk pool the first time she was captured. Last week. But I don't think I wanted her luck to be tested anymore.

Elias wasn't here to stop that from happening.

So it was up to us to make sure Kelly didn't get captured again.

No sign of Kelly.

I expected as much. No good to stay in one spot.

All we could hope was she found a way to hide long enough until everything blew off.

I noticed a flock of different types of birds landing on the roof of the mall.

(_You've seen Kelly?_) Rachel asked as I joined them.

(_No. Nothing yet._)

(_Well, she couldn't have gone that far._) Marco uttered. (_And if she keeps covered, the Yeerks won't recognise her face._)

(_But for how long?_) Tobias asked.

(_There are three payphones nearby. Kelly called me at one,_) I said. (_Split into three teams. One searches at each payphone. Spread out as far as you can. If you see her, do whatever you can to get her out to safely but do it-_)

(_Discreetly. We know,_) Marco cut me.

(_If we can't find her?_) Cassie asked worriedly.

(_If nothing after an hour, return back to the barn. She may have gone there for safety. She knows how to avoid the Yeerks,_) I explained. Hopefully. (_Rachel, Ax, take the one near the shuttle buses. Cassie, Marco, the one near the McDonalds. Tobias, you're with me._)

We split up, no objection on the plan. The faster we find her, the better.

Once we passed over the payphone, our target, we aimed for the sky. Higher altitude, better bird's eye view over the streets. We combed the crowds below us for about five minutes.

(_There! I see her,_) Tobias cried.

Kelly was less than a hundred feet away from us, pushing forward through the people.

(_See anyone following her?_)

(_No. Nobody seems suspicious._)

(_Kelly!_) I called to her.

She didn't turn to look up. But I knew she had heard me.

(_Kelly, we're here. We'll keep watch but you got to get yourself someplace safe._)

(_That's gonna be harder than it sounds, Jake,_) Tobias said.

(_Yeah. Yeah, I know._)

After all, Kelly's the only one who can't morph.

Not smart to be unable to morph, you may think. But Kelly has her reason why she didn't accept it.

Elias didn't have the morphing power, too.

That was the one thing Kelly chose, so that nothing was changed.

It would have been cool, sure. Someone with both the calling and morphing powers. Then again, Ax did once wonder if two different powers could conflict each other, when the calling relied on the morphing.

But if you found out your future self altered the past and with no morphing powers, you'd have done the same thing Kelly did. And that was to say no in being an Animorph.

We weren't against her on that decision. I did tell her it'd be difficult without it.

But she has her calling power to help.

In the open, she'd be a dead duck still. She needed to find someplace empty and safe, enough time to call a _Talith_ and try to escape.

But in this part of the city, that was hard to find. At this time of the day too.

Kelly turned around a corner, slipping through an alley.

(_Kelly, I'm heading down. Keep going until I catch up to you. Tobias will keep watch,_) I said and turned to Tobias. (_Give me update once I'm down._)

(_Got it._)

I landed in another alley. One that I knew would intersect into hers. Quickly demorphed and followed it towards her direction.

Like I was going to go out in the open in my morphing suit. I'm not **that** stupid.

(_She's still fifty feet away from you. I told her to stop but it doesn't look like she's listening._)

Kelly was scared. Being put in another close situation with the Yeerks, I wouldn't blame her.

Just as I thought that, I found it weird.

Sure, it was natural to be scared. But after when she went through before...

Something in my gut told me something was wrong. But I didn't know what.

(_Jake, three men are behind you. Twenty feet away._)

I was almost ready to look back. I forced myself not to.

(_They just entered the alleyway just now. They're trailing after you._)

I wanted to ask him if they were Controllers. But I was human now. Not a bird.

(_Jake, you got to get out. Saw a Dracon Beam and a gun in one of the men's coats._)

They were.

Did they notice me in the alley? I was sure no one was around to see me demorph. Then again, who wouldn't draw suspicious on a kid alone in an alley wearing a tight skin suit?

I clenched my teeth tightly. Fine mess I was in.

I had to keep my cool. If I make a move now, they'd know.

(_I can distract them off you, Jake. You make a run for it._)

Unfortunately, before anyone of us could make that plan come into action, another man entered the alley, some feet ahead of me. Causally walking about, examining a large piece of paper in his hands curiously.

Both ways were blocked.

I was trapped.

One problem after the other.

Can't I have a break from them?

I had to trust on Tobias to distract the men behind me.

I was ready to bolt when the man looked to me from his map. Shades at me.

"Oh, excuse me. Sorry but could you help me?" The man waved at me and pointed at his map. "I'm lost. I've been looking for the Holiday Inn for hours now."

I half relaxed. Must be a tourist.

If he was a Controller, he'd be doing the same thing as those guys behind me were. But he wasn't. Just kept poking at the shiny new paper pleadingly.

I neared cautiously as he showed me the map. I took a glimpse.

My eyes widened.

Writing on the map with ink were two sentences. But the first got to me.

They're following you.

Wasn't what I was expected but my brain geared to one possible idea.

I looked back up at the man. Those shades were looking very familiar.

Different face but still the same shades.

The man with the shade. From before.

_Tap. Tap._

He didn't react to my reaction. Just tapped at the map.

I looked back down.

Act normal.

I swallowed. Meeting the man with the shades face to face.

(_'They're following you. Act normal'? Wait. What-_)

Tobias had read the message too. Good.

_Tap. Tap._

The man tapped again on the map. Pointing to a particular white line.

The next alleyway besides us.

(_Those guys are coming close. Ten feet._)

I took in a breath.

This guy was connected to Elias. Somehow.

I didn't have any other choice but to trust him.

"Yeah. I know the place. Let me show you," I said, leading him down the other lane.

He nodded as we both walked away, out of the two Controllers' sight.

(_Hurry! They're pulling out their guns._)

Which meant they were going to kill us.

I had to take my chance. Morph now and take the Controllers out.

"3 seconds for a human to remember a face."

I took a while to register. I didn't get why the man said that.

All of a sudden, he turned, pushing me back. Dropped the map. Pulled out a weird-looking gun and pointed up to shoulder level.

It was a quick glimpse. But that gun was familiar.

I never thought I'd see something similar again.

The gun's design was black. With faint, thin neon lines. A splice between a normal semi-automatic and an alien gun.

That was one of Elias' weapons.

A man, one of the Controllers, came around a corner.

Wheeled his head to see the gun barrel pointing at him.

_BAM!_

You'd think I've gotten used to hearing gun fire. But I've only been used – to an extent – with Dracon Beams, Shredders.

Not the guns Elias used before.

The bullet casing fell, vanishing. So did the Controller but he didn't drift away like the casing.

No bullet hole in his head.

My eyes were still on the fallen Controller but I felt the man with the shades grab my arm and pull me away.

"Move!" he yelled.

As I turned, I saw the other two Controllers come round too at the corners of my eyes.

I didn't need to keep looking to see them draw out their weapons.

_Zzzzzzzzzaaaaaappppp!_

"Down!" He pushed my head down, shielding me. No stopping. Just kept on running.

_Zzzzzzzzzaaaaaappppp!_

(_Jake!_) Tobias hollered.

I was helpless right now. Struck running with some stranger helping me.

Ahead of us was a dumpster truck, slowly packing into an open alley. Where those big blue dumpsters were at.

We slid by the truck but the man with the shades then stopped. He grabbed the railings of one of the dumpsters and with all his might, he shoved it right at the Controllers. Jamming them in a spot with the truck blocking most of the path.

They yelled at the driver to move.

That would slow them down. He then grabbed me and we kept going.

He pushed open the fire exit of some abandoned building with his arm and we bolted in. He quickly grabbed a broken pipe and jammed it at the door handle.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"Come on!" He pulled me again. This time to the upper level and into a room.

I watched the man with the shades. I was about to yell at him that we were in a dead end. Trapped.

But he grabbed a broken chair and hauled it at a window.

_CRASH!_

He had a plan. One he wasn't telling me. Or he was just making it up as he went on.

Ripping the fabric off the chair's seat, he quickly used it to scrape away the broken glass from the window frame. Outside was a fire escape.

"Get down. Quickly."

He let me go first. Gun pointed at the door. I climbed onto the fire escape and descended down.

(_Jake!_) I glanced up to see a speck above me.

_BAM!_

I stopped halfway. Thinking the man with the shades may have been shot at. But he was alright, swiftly crawling out the window and grabbing the fire escape.

"What are you doing! ? Go!" he barked.

I've not been used to getting orders before. Not by my own friends. I've always been the one to give them.

But with the situation I was in, I was finding myself following a complete stranger's order.

Same as following Elias'.

Didn't need to question why he was helping me. He was taking out the Controllers. Trying to get me somewhere safe.

I jumped down. Waited for him to do the same.

"Keep going!"

I did as he was told.

I took a quick glance. The two Controllers were still after us, now getting out of the window.

It was a misfire. Or one to scare them for a bit.

"In here!" He pointed to the back of a parking lot not too far away. We ran.

After going up the ramp once, we ducked behind a car. The man kept a watchful eye out to see if the Controllers have caught up.

"Tell me who are you? How do you know Elias?" I asked again.

He pulled out something from his right ear. It looked like a hearing aid. Except it looked very much different from one. Like it had been modified and redesigned.

"Hey!" I yelled. He suddenly shoved it in my ear.

Beeps and techno sounds echoed in my head.

(_"Thought-speech pattern analysis complete."_)

A robotic woman's voice resounded. Coming from the ear piece.

The man with the shade took it off me and put it back into his ear.

(_"Can you hear me?"_)

I jumped.

The voice in my head. It was like thought-speech. Only sounding like it was said through a phone. Mechanical and not like our usual thought-speech.

Elias communicated to us with a strange transmitter.

It would be her voice I'd hear, thought-speaking to me.

Just like the man with the shades in front of me.

(_"I take that as a yes."_) He turned back, glancing over the car. (_"We don't have enough time. Morph into something and get out of here."_)

I was shocked.

Morph.

The word only we seven would say to each other. No one else outside our circle.

"You know? You know about us?" I hollered. "How?"

(_"Elias told us. Now hurry and do whatever you need to. We'll handle them."_)

"We? Who's 'we'?"

He wheeled to me. (_"Stop wasting time. We can explain everything later. But not right now."_)

"No!" I yelled. "You know about Elias. You know about the invasion! Tell me now! Who are you?"

(_"Leave, human bandit. Now."_)

I felt chills down my spine.

That was another voice. Harsher than the first one.

Only, I knew then that voice, I couldn't trust it.

Shouldn't I be called a kid? Not a human? And I was called a bandit too.

Only one race would call us bandits. And it was normally 'Andalite Bandits'.

I eyed at him. Emotions, expressions mostly could be told from the eyes. But with his sunglasses, it was hard to tell. Other than he looked serious.

"You...you're a Controller too?"

He didn't reply.

My savior was a Controller.

A Controller who knew everything...

Why...did a Yeerk know about Elias?

I lunged at him. Gripped him by the collar and slammed him into the metal side.

"You-!" I was already morphing into a tiger. Feeling my teeth sharpen.

The man didn't shake in fear. He remained still, gun down.

"Go ahead. But you'll be giving them reasons to believe the Animorphs are humans," the Controller explained, this time not through his ear piece.

I froze. Stiff. He knew the name of our group. "What?"

"Someone knows your secret. And sent those three to seize you. You're falling into a trap."

"Why should I believe you? You're one of them! You could be the one who told them," I yelled.

"If I was, why did I shoot down one of my own?"

I held back in a vexed manner. That was true. He just shot one down with a weapon Elias used. He could have stopped me any time before to be easy picking for them.

But he was still a Yeerk. Who knew Elias. Who knew about us to the level we could morph and we were the bandits.

If I wasn't in tight circumstances, I'd have beaten the information out of him.

"In here!" I heard a shout from outside.

The two men were coming in.

"This human and I are the only ones who can get you out of this," the man with the shades, the Yeerk in him, stated.

"Why should I trust you?" I grimly asked..

"You don't have to. But you trust Elias?"

The mention of Elias' name, it was vile to hear it from a Yeerk. But I unwound myself down.

Yes, I trusted Elias. She wasn't around to vouch for this one Controller but no matter what, I trusted her.

"That's all you'll have to do."

A Yeerk was convincing me to trust her over him. A Yeerk carrying the same technology Elias used against his kind.

I let go. Demorphed back.

He peered over the car. Went back to thought-speaking. (_"Dammit, they're here."_) He squatted down. (_"Get under the car. Go!"_)

This had to be a trap. He was a Controller. The enemy.

He looked at me, irritated.

But somehow...he was also Elias' friend.

"GO!"

He jumped up.

_BAM! BAM!_

_Zzzzzzzzzaaaaaappppp!_

_Zzzzzzzzzaaaaaappppp!_

I quickly crawled under the other car. The man with the shades then darted away to the next rows of cars. Distracting the Controllers.

_Zzzzzzzzzaaaaaappppp!_

_Zzzzzzzzzaaaaaappppp!_

He slid behind for shelter, missing the beams by a hair.

I didn't understand why he didn't keep shooting. Unless he was trying to conserve his bullets.

Elias' guns weren't infinite. She had to restock them too.

"We got you cornered, human!" one of the Controllers yelled.

I was hiding while the guy was going to get caught. His kind. Sacrificed everything just for me, his enemy.

Why?

I shook my head. Now wasn't a time to ask questions. The only one to answer was going to be gunned down in a matter of seconds.

As much as I disliked the idea of helping Yeerks, I had to help him.

Too low to morph into something big under a car like a tiger. Too short a time period to get up from under and morph.

So I morphed into a falcon right underneath.

Small and could still fly even in close spaces like a parking lot if I planned it right.

I scrambled out and spread my wings out. There wasn't any wind inside the lot so it was constant flapping.

I searched about. The two Controllers were too occupied to see a peregrine falcon inside the lot. Still combing between the cars for him and me.

I couldn't find the man with the shades. The Controller helping me.

(_Jake!_)

(_Tobias! In the parking lot,_) I yelled. (_The two Controllers are here too._)

(_What about the guy?_)

Not too far, I found him. Hiding behind the trunk of a black van.

One Controller was just feet away from him.

(_Run! He's coming from your left!_) I yelled at the man.

(_Jake! What's going on?_)

The guy moved away. Too slow!

So I swooped down, talons spread out and clawed into the Controller's face.

"Ahhhhh! Andalite Bandit!" the Controller screamed.

I didn't see it coming. His arm waving at me to stop a bird from attacking. All I could feel was a pain at my side in an instant.

I heard a crack. My wing.

I fell to the floor with a thud.

And then I was staring at his Dracon Beam.

The Controller grinned at me. "Got you, Bandit."

"Wheet-whoot!"

The Controller turned to the direction of the whistle.

_BAM!_

His head flopped back. Body collapsed onto the concrete floor.

And near it was the struggling, squirming small gray form.

A Yeerk.

(_"I told you to get!"_) the first voice yelled at me. I found myself being picked up and dumped into a bag. A satchel bag the man with the shades carried.

"STOP!"

_Zzzzzzzzzaaaaaappppp!_

I felt the whole world shake. The man with the shades was running. Away from the last Controller after us.

(_Jake! Where are you?_) Tobias shouted.

My wing was useless now. So I guess I was the middleman now. (_Still with the guy with the shades. In his bag. My wing's busted. Keep an eye on him and the Controller behind us._)

(_O-Ok! I see you. The Controller isn't far away._)

(_"Take a right at the next street! Right!"_)

The first voice.

(_"I know where I am going."_) The second voice. The Yeerk.

(_"That Controller will catch up if we take that way! I say take a right."_)

(_"We need all of us to be in the industrial area and this is the quickest way I know."_)

It was like two different people were cooperating to find a route. Working together. A little badly.

(_"You know what you think you know. You're questioning an AI's direction!"_)

(_"No. I am more capable of knowing well of where to go. I don't need CoNDI to help us."_)

CoNDI?

That was the name of Elias' AI in her armor suit.

How did they get a hold of that?

(_"Not this district. Even I've never been here before! You don't know either!"_)

I wasn't sure if I should be worried to hear a Controller and a Yeerk to have indirection or not.

(_Jake! The Controller went off a different path,) _Tobias hollered._ (He's heading towards you from the left alley, two streets ahead._)

I relayed the message. (_The Controller isn't behind us. He's trying to cut you out ahead. From the left._)

(_"See? Told you."_) The first voice.

(_"We need to. He's the last know who knows."_)

The last?

(_"Glynn. Orekor. You're coming towards the industrial area. Twenty kilometres away. The Controller will meet you at the intersect in less than three minutes."_)

There was a third voice. A girl's one. How many Yeerks did this guy had in his head?

But the way she said it, sounded like she was watching from...above?

I squeezed my head out of the gap of the bag's fold. Sure enough, we had really gone far from our first location, the mall. Somewhere near Downtown. Lots of small warehouses around us.

Then we stopped. The sound of a metal fence clanking.

(_"No good, Sybil. There's a fence in the way,"_) the first voice uttered.

(_Behind you!_) Tobias warned at the same time the girl's voice yelled, (_"The Controller! He's behind you!"_)

"Got you!"

_Zzzzzzzzzaaaaaappppp!_

The world suddenly jerked around me.

I was flung aside, bag and everything.

_BAM!_

A miss.

"Oopf!" the man with the shades groaned, falling onto his side. The third Controller had jumped at him during that misfire and knocked him down. The future gun dropping from his grasp.

The Dracon Beam swung up at him.

"Tseeeeeer!" The swoosh of wings and extending of talons raked at the Controller.

"Arrrgh!" he screamed, shielding himself from Tobias.

_Zzzzzzzzzaaaaaappppp!_

_Zzzzzzzzzaaaaaappppp!_

Beams fired aimlessly above. Tobias easily evaded them and backed away, circling up to aerial attack him again.

He lashed out, this time whacking the Dracon Beam from the Controller's fingers.

The Controller recoiled back up. He ignored Tobias completely. Ready to take down the person who killed his two fellow friends. Still on the ground, slowly recovering.

But one look at the man with the shades stopped him.

Well, without the shades. They were knocked off.

And his disguise went away like a ripple in a second. His face distorted into what seemed to be his real face. With brown curly hair. His clothes changed to another set, a different taste of fashion, in an instant.

"You..." The Controller recognized him. His face was completely twisted with anger. Rage. "DEVOURER! ! !"

(_Run!_) I yelled, struggling to untangle the bag's strap around my wing.

The brown-haired man grabbed for the gun instead.

Took aim at the bloodthirsty, charging Controller.

_BAM!_

The Controller dropped.

And there was nothing.

Silent. Still. Two bodies on the ground, opposite to each other.

Another gray slug was on the filthy ground. It eventually dissipated away like thin air.

The Yeerk was dead. All three of them.

The man with the shades, the Controller, sunk back his head and breathed heavily. The tense moment you'd normally see in crime drama shows was over.

(_"Sybil. Kill the interference feed. We got them,"_) the first voice, Glynn, I guess, spoke.

(_"Affirmative. I'll inform Ar't you got the boy, Jake, safe."_)

I jumped, flopping out of the bag. Someone knew my name. My name. Even this Ar't Chee who gave me the message.

Just how many people did Elias have as allies?

(_"Where is she?"_) the Yeerk asked distastefully.

(_"At the meeting place. Just arrived two minutes again."_)

"Gaaah," the man groaned, standing up. "We shouldn't keep her waiting then."

(_"I'll keep an eye for any Yeerks she may have contacted to the meeting."_)

(_"Thanks, Sybil."_)

He holstered the strange gun in his coat, kneeled down to the fallen Controller, or in this case ex-Controller, and seized the Dracon Beam and the other gun. The other gun, he removed the magazine and a lone bullet in its chamber. He did something else to the Dracon Beam, maybe also disabling it useless.

He threw the unwanted Dracon Beam into a trash bin. Planted the gun at his back, with the belt holding it. You know, the kind undercover cops do with extra guns.

The brown-haired man approached me and picked up his shades and satchel bag, slipping the magazine and bullet into a side pocket. The shades were also packed away.

(_"It's not finished yet. We need you to come with us a little longer."_) He had a stern look that if I was to question his reason, I'd be getting another vague answer. (_"Stay in morph. Tell your friend to keep his eyes on this human."_)

(_What do you want from us?_) I demanded.

(_"Witnesses."_)

(_What?_) Us, witnesses? For what?

Again, no reply. He picked me up gently and carefully packed me into his bag. Fold over my head so I could see.

I would have decided to peck at him and try to escape, thinking the Yeerk was nothing but a double-crosser. But there was nothing behind his actions to change my mind about him.

And what did he mean by witnesses?

He then walked off from the place. From the Controller lying in the backstreet.

(_Jake, what's going on?_)

I peeked out. Tobias had flown back up into the sky.

(_Tobias, follow the guy. He's leading us to something._)

(_And that is?_)

(_Don't know. If he does something funny, do whatever you can for me to get away._)

(_Wait, why the suspicion? This person just took down three Controllers._)

(_Tobias, he's a Controller too._)

I could have sworn he jerked a bit in the air.

(_What? But then...why? What's going on?_)

(_I don't know either. All I know is this is a Controller who shot his own comrades and with Elias' weapon._)

Tobias didn't say anything straight away. (_Can we trust him? I know he just helped us but can we?_)

(_Do we have any reason not to?_)

He fell silent. I didn't need an answer anyway.

(_"How long do you and your friend have?"_) the first voice asked. Glynn. (_"Morphing, I mean."_)

He and the Yeerk must have guessed I had company too.

I wasn't sure how deep they knew. If they knew how many of us could morph.

(_Just me. I only just morphed._)

(_"So a guess, fifteen? Alright."_)

(_"If all goes well, the meeting should take less than twenty minutes."_) The second voice.

(_You're taking us to a Yeerk meeting?_) I hissed.

(_"If only that was it,"_) the Yeerk complained. (_"But it's not."_)

I was about to say he was lying. He was a Yeerk and if meeting meant anything, it was a Sharing meeting.

But what purpose did he have to bring me along? Have me as a spy? Couldn't be. Not with the Gleet BioFilters. Those could detect and immediately vaporize me in an instant.

I kept quiet. If he were to pull something off, then Tobias and I would bolt. Get the others and warn them about this one Controller.

Yeah, Marco's gonna have a field day with this one.

I soon realized we were leaving the industrial park area. Going back towards familiar sights of the city. I saw a quick glimpse of the mall and wondered if the others had went back there, hopefully to see Tobias following the guy with me in his bag and trail after us.

No sign of them. Probably still searching for Kelly.

Soon we broke away from the buildings and the noisy atmosphere of cars and people, now faint to the hearing. Trees surrounded us and I almost thought we were back at the woods. But the ground was paved and families were out strolling on a cool, happy day.

Out in the open of a nearby park. Not inside a small building where the Yeerks would likely hold their meetings for world domination in.

The man, Glynn, stopped in front of the fountain.

(_No way,_) I heard Tobias gasp above me. (_How-?_)

(_What?_) I asked.

I didn't get an answer from him. But I got it sure enough.

"You took your sweet time, Orekor."

I froze. I felt my heart stop a beat.

"I'm sorry. Had some trouble earlier," Glynn's Yeerk apologized. "I see you have a new body. Is that why you wanted to meet?"

"It's a lot better. Youthful and powerful...with so many secrets. The annoying part is her constant screaming."

"And what happened to the other host?"

"Do you really need to know? Humans are disposable, after all. You can pick anyone off the street."

No.

No, no, no, no, no!

"But this one is truly worth it. It was lucky to have stumbled on her on the same street as I was." A laugh. An abnormal soft laugh. "Did you know? This human was the one we've been looking for last week. The one with a connection with the Black Massacre. Even better, I know who the Black Massacre really is. And the Andalite Bandits."

It can't be. No! That's not true!

"And all thanks to a human named Jake for letting this happen." The voice laughed. "Paying too much attention over his family that he forgot about his friend."

My mind was screaming it wasn't true. But my gut was telling me to accept it.

When did this happen? How? How did this Yeerk get a whole of her?

It had to be a lie, right?

The only way I'd know the truth was to look out of the bag. And half of me was telling me not to.

I peered out.

No...

What have I done?

Standing before Glynn or the Yeerk in his head...with an unnatural grin on her face...

Was Kelly.

As a Controller.

"And I can't wait to thank him personally," the Yeerk said through Kelly's mouth.

* * *

Vickie: ...Sooo how many of you didn't expect a fate Kelly would revisit?

In all, I did say with Jake trying to do everything he can to prevent the vision from happening would endanger Kelly. Sometimes it's just not that easy without considering other factors.

And how will the Animorphs' cooperation with this Yeerk and human go? Especially since they know Elias as well. Not the 'Black Massacre'. It will go rocky and what motive the Yeerk has? You'll find out but I guarantee, it's something you never expected.

And I'm sure you have questions. How did this one Yeerk get a hand on Kelly? What's her plans? Well, all that will be answered in later chapters. Think of it as a bit of criminal investigation. Just a bit.

Hope you enjoy this chapter! R'n'R! And don't worry, I'm not that cruel to make this situation into an impossible one for the Animorphs, Ax and Kelly. Cya then!


	11. Eleven

**ELEVEN**

What? How? Why?

When did Kelly get captured and forced as a Controller?

How did this happen! ?

(_"Don't. If she sees you, it'll be over."_) A hand pushed me down, trying to stop me from leaping out of the bag.

Was it my fault that I let Kelly be an easy target because we put all our focus on my dad?

How could I let this happen?

"Would you care to explain? You're not making sense," the brown-haired man's Yeerk asked.

Kelly glanced left and right, smiling with eerie confidence. "No one followed you?"

"None." Except for two birds.

"Good. The way it should be." The Yeerk smiled uncannily through Kelly's face. I could only imagine Kelly screaming through a face that was taken over from her.

I felt revolted. At myself. A while ago, all I could think about was making sure my father didn't have the same fate I had. A Yeerk controlling him. And the result, Kelly took his place instead.

"I found out who those bandit scums are. Would you believe it? Five human children. All this time, it has been five humans and one Andalite runt who have been stopping us for more than a year."

It was happening all over again. A Yeerk finding out our secrets because of one slip up. Just like me.

"Are you expecting me to believe this? Humans?" the Yeerk uttered with stern disbelief. Or pretending to.

"It gets better. The Black Massacre is also a human. She's from the future. And this host, is her present self."

The Yeerk in the brown-haired man raised an eyebrow. "Sounds far-fetched."

"Does it matter? I know everything. I even know the Black Massacre's real name. Elias Vanguard. Such a disgusting name indeed."

I felt the bag strap gripped tight. Glynn's face didn't show it but the tension in his hand did.

The Yeerk knew. It knew the same secret Glynn's Yeerk knew.

"I know who exactly those bandits are. And their morphing powers. I know this host has a particular power too. I tested it out on her own animal." The Yeerk twisted Kelly's laugh. "She was easy to break when she saw her beloved 'Horatio' ripped by her own creation."

I turned cold.

Kelly's campsite and Horatio.

Ax said the damage didn't look like it was done by Yeerks.

Her home wasn't destroyed by a Dracon Beam. Her dog wasn't hurt because of Controllers.

The Yeerk used a _Talith_ on them.

"I have to say, I almost thought that mutt was a bandit too. It was immediately aggressive when I came to her little safe area."

Horatio...he must have sensed something was wrong. Must have known.

"I even got her friends spinning around in circles. Right now, a few brothers-in-arms should be capturing the human, Jake. Can't wait to see his face when he learns about his poor friend."

Just like Glynn and his Yeerk said, it was a trap.

By the Yeerk in Kelly's head.

Those three Controllers were supposed to wring me up and take me to her. To see the consequence I've made.

I'm sorry, Kelly.

I'm so sorry.

I said that again and again, even if she'd never hear them.

"So you've shared these secrets to them, I presume?"

I stopped. Listened.

"Of course not. I just told them to capture him because he 'may' have information we need. Why should I give out free glory?"

"Then...have you told the-"

"The Council? The Vissers? Why should I?" Kelly's Yeerk laughed. "Think about it, Orekor. I have those so-called bandits in my grasp. I know everything about the Black Massacre and what that human did. I could easily rise up to Visser just by catching all six of them."

The Yeerk, it hasn't told anyone yet?

"I'm guessing you have a plan then."

"Of course. And it's that simple. I already got them rattled with this human missing. I'm thinking I'll contact one of those foolish humans and tell them, 'Kelly' just had another prediction. I'll have them go to a place, defenceless. Then I'll take them out with this human's power."

I tensed. The Yeerk was using Kelly's premonition to its advantage.

Of course, it'd be like that. A Yeerk could easily use the morphing power through a person. Same went for the calling power.

"So you'll be meeting them face to face then?"

Kelly's head shook. "Not with that Andalite with them. He may prove the hardest to take care of. No, I plan to take them down one by one. After all, they'll do anything for this friend. This one human who is greatly connected all because of that Black Massacre."

The Yeerk knew everything. How valuable Kelly was with the whole time alteration. How much of a risk it would if anyone did something to her, changing the course of history for Elias. Even by us.

Everything.

"To think, that Black Massacre was holding out so many weapons. And I have one at my disposal," it sneered.

"And you're going in alone? That's rather reckless."

"Come now. Like they'd do anything to me? I'm controlling their friend. She makes a perfect hostage to use against them. But I'll bring in Weblric and Astric along if needed. And you too, Orekor. I need a...what was that phrase humans say? Oh. A meat shield."

The more I listened, the more I was seeing something off. This wasn't like a typical Yeerk conversation we'd overhear.

Frankly, it was more like one party was being sarcastic to the other. No, more than that.

"So you want me to keep tabs on the Vissers and make sure no Yeerk interrupt you?"

The Yeerk, Iubic then strangely clapped her hands together. Kelly's hands. "Bravo, Orekor. Always the loyal lackey. I've always like that in you. And no matter what, out of all this, you're still the Devourer."

Orekor kept silent.

Devourer?

The other Controller called him that too.

Iubic strolled around Orekor happily. Mockingly. "I'll have the bandits in one go. And all you'll do is help me and get no reward. No opportunity. Like always. Because a Devourer is only good at being a scapegoat. And you can't do anything about that."

Orekor did nothing to rebuff back. Accepting all that in with no defiance.

For some reason, this one Yeerk was getting a different treatment.

"Now then. You know where to find me, Orekor." Iubic strolled off.

"When was the last time you went to a Sharing meeting, Iubic?" The Yeerk, Orekor, suddenly asked.

That stopped her. "Hm. This morning."

(_"So we have only three days then."_) Glynn's voice explained to me. "If you're planning to keep this from the others for the time being, they will find out in the next meeting. You plan to gather the bandits before then?"

The Yeerk laughed in a hum. "Don't worry. What was it humans said? A meal taste better after a good work-out?"

I watched helplessly as the Yeerk was taking Kelly away. To where, I didn't know.

(_I'm gonna follow her,_) Tobias said. (_We got to save Kelly somehow._)

Out of the blues, I was moving away from Kelly. The opposite direction instead.

(_Jake?_)

(_What are you doing! ? We have to save Kelly!_) I yelled at the Yeerk, Orekor. He was walking away, not me. I was just a helpless rider in a satchel bag.

He said nothing.

(_Let me out! If you won't do anything, then I will!_)

(_"Don't give Iubic reason to think you know."_)

That was the Yeerk's reply.

It was crazy talk. We were leaving it at that, letting a Yeerk take her away, along with the knowledge of us. Even Elias.

But I also saw reasoning behind his answer.

Right now, Kelly's Yeerk didn't know and only Tobias and I knew. She just 'believed' we weren't any wiser.

(_"Tell your friend to stay with us."_)

I was reluctant...but...

(_...Tobias, follow us._)

I could tell by the silence from Tobias. Bad idea. What were you thinking, Jake?

What have I been thinking before? My father's safety? Just that?

Five minutes later, the guy, Glynn found a quiet, isolated passage.

He let me out of the bag.

I demorphed.

"We need a strategy if we all want to help that human. I know you don't work well with Yeerks but-"

I didn't give him a chance to finish.

I shoved him into the wall, placed my morphing half-tiger, half-human hand at his throat.

(_Jake! What are you doing?_) Tobias yelled.

"You're going to listen to me, Yeerk," I demanded. "You're gonna tell your friend to come back to us. Do anything funny and I'll dig a hole into you."

The Yeerk sighed through the brown-haired man's face. Unimpressed by my threat. "Please, I've seen worse things by Elias. Yours is nothing in comparison to what she could do."

"Shut up! Don't say her name." I was so angry. So furious.

A Yeerk was saying her name like she was her pal. A Yeerk.

"Are you that uptight? Our intention is not to take you to the Yeerks. We are on your side."

"No, you're not," I spat. "You're not our friend, Yeerk."

"Think rationally. Iubic has not spoken to any Yeerks but me. She expects me to follow through," Orekor stated.

I grounded my teeth, ready to fully morph into tiger. "And you're going to take me to her, right? I won't let you-"

"Answer this then: why have I not told her about you?"

I stopped.

"I could have said I had an Andalite Bandit in my bag at any time. But I didn't. I could have told her I am using technology used by the Black Massacre. I didn't. What reason do I have on holding this information back?"

"Oh, I don't know. Gain my trust? Try to get me to lose my guard? I know exactly what you are. So don't make it like we're allies, Yeerk!"

Orekor didn't persist. He eyed wordlessly at me, seeing I wasn't going to be swayed.

Then his face changed to an irritated one and a sigh escaped from his mouth.

"It doesn't matter, Orekor. He's not going to listen. Now we have to clean up his mess."

I felt offended. "My mess? I don't know who you are but stay out, Yeerk!"

"Hey, for your information, the _human_ here is talking to you! And you think we don't, kid?" Glynn barked, showing no restrict to let it go. "We know you and a few others are fighting the Yeerks as well. We've known for a year now!"

"What! ?"

"And you know what else? We know that recently, your brother has informed the Yeerks that he needs to take care of your father. And thanks to your recklessness, now you got Elias' secret exposed and that girl a Controller!"

I glared him. He glared back. I was really tempted to shut him up. He did nothing to retaliate.

Just...looked at me, disappointed and angry.

In frustration, I let him go. Demorphed. But that frustration eventually fuelled out.

Because he was right. As much as it irritated me, the man was right. I got Kelly captured. I let a Yeerk learn everything about us, Kelly and Elias. What was making it worse was the fact a guy who was supposed to be under control of another Yeerk was telling me all this.

Glynn shook his head and glared back. "Don't get why Elias left for you lot."

"Don't say her name!" I yelled. "You don't know her. You or that Yeerk don't know what she had to go through!"

"And you do? Did you know what she was doing before she met you? Did you know she had another life? Or that she stopped working and made arrangements for everyone she knew, including you?"

I glanced at him, bewildered.

A life? Arrangements?

"Or the fact that she told me and several others to stop fighting this war? To go on with our lives and forget everything? And none of us knows what really happened to her after she left? Did you know all that? Elias did more than what you think, kid! A lot more than what Orekor and I have been doing to save your sorry butt!

You're too stupid to realise the fact that she dropped everything to help you kids!"

I didn't snap back. I held it down, taking everything he said all in.

Because I was dumbfounded to hear that.

And soon, I was asking myself...

What was Elias doing...before she appeared for the first time to us? Before the whole chaos happened last week?

There was another life the others and I didn't know about. More secrets she kept, more skeletons in her closet.

I didn't know anything about Elias before.

"So don't say we don't know Elias when you don't too."

The final blow by my enemy. Like a Dracon Beam right into my gut. I kinda wished it was just that instead of those words.

"Enough. This isn't going anywhere." Now it was Orekor, calmly putting a standstill between me and his host. "We got off badly. And I don't expect you to take anything from me kindly. So how about we start over?"

He positioned himself up with a stern, cool face.

"I am Orekor 1821." The expression was replaced by a slacked but slightly irritated look. "And I am Glynn Knight."

I glanced at him, shocked. Wondering if the guy, not the Yeerk, was joking.

"The VP in the news? The Glynn Knight?" I uttered.

"Actually, that's an identity Elias created for me," Glynn explained. "My real name is Glynn Reilly. At least to everyone in the Sharing."

The expression changed back to the cool one. I was starting to understand who I was talking to.

"We already know you are Jake." He looked up to the building edge. "And the red-tailed hawk is...Tobias, right?"

(_You know?_) Tobias blurted before he could stop himself.

Orekor nodded.

I bit my lips. Finding myself talking to a Yeerk was always difficult. "Not much of an introduction," I hissed.

Orekor simply shrugged his shoulders. "At least you now know that an enemy knows your names. Why hold that back?"

I glared him down. Unconvinced.

"If I really was intending to capture you, I would have done so the moment I knew. Besides, with my status, it would have been useless anyway. Someone else would have taken the credit off me," he explained.

I was mildly convinced. Mildly. But the rest of the sentences got me curious.

Status? Credit? Exactly what was he going on about?

(_What, the Yeerks don't think of you highly?_) Tobias asked.

And that was when Orekor shut down. The cool expression changing into a pitied one.

I began wondering.

"That Yeerk inside Kelly's head...and the Controller back there... They both called you Devourer," I said.

Orekor twitched unpleasantly.

"Why did they call you that?"

Nobody from the brown-haired man said anything. I began wondering if Orekor was reluctant to explain that.

That would have been the first I'd ever see in a Yeerk.

"...Tell them, Orekor." Glynn. "It'll give them more reason to trust you."

Another sigh after a long pause.

"Have you heard of chimerism?"

This time, it was Orekor. I didn't reply because I've never heard that word before. Once he realized it, he continued.

"You humans are researching on this genetic condition. You describe it as 'a rare disorder in which a person can have more than one set of DNA'. Usually because of two non-identical twin embryos merging together. It's not just a single race that has it. I have it too. Only it's called devouring by us instead."

He glanced at me, ready to see what my reaction would be.

"I devoured my higher twin before we emerged from our grub."

I was somewhat startled. Maybe I should have expected it. There had been one Yeerk we knew who was into cannibalism. Cut open hosts' heads to get the Yeerks inside.

But I never heard about a Yeerk eating another when they were emerging, just being born.

Orekor didn't seem repentant through Glynn's face. It was like every day ordeal, nothing to get shocked over. For a Yeerk.

"It's a rare condition among the Yeerks. But it really depends. If a higher twin devours its other twin, then it is given superior standards. If the other way, the lower twin is simply ranked further down the chain and given no privileges. Branded as a Devourer. A lower Devourer is only good for dying in the frontline. No Yeerk will care if it has done anything grand for the cause."

"I'm...sorry?" It was a completely different treatment for a Yeerk.. Particularly the opposite of being a Visser.

(_Sounds rough,_) Tobias said softly.

Orekor shook his head. "I have already accepted who I am. And this condition benefits to me. Only a few Yeerks know about it. So I'm not known very well in my people. Makes it easier for all of them not to take notice. Henceforth, I make the prefect double agent."

I tightened my fists, expecting Orekor to do something. "For the Yeerks?"

"No." He looked at me. "For Elias."

That completely got me by surprise.

For Elias?

Someone who had been slaughtering his kind for years?

"And thanks to her, we've been able to hold a few identities. We play as the loyal, devoted trooper for the Council on one card while being the enemy on another. We can do our own business without them prying in too. I prefer it that way. I don't want them using our research for their own benefits."

I didn't get it.

This was a Yeerk. A Yeerk that Elias hated.

Why did she have an alliance with one when they ruined her life?

"Why?"

"Because it's that easy to be ignored. Even we Yeerks can do mix-ups. They can't keep track of a host's many profiles very well and certainly wouldn't on one controlled by a Dev-"

"No. I mean...why for Elias?" I asked. "She's your enemy, right?"

I was amazingly baffled when he answered back after a moment of silence. Of respect.

"She was."

He then leaned back on the wall. Tired. Sentimental.

"I never cared much about what would happen to me... I've used to think that as long as I could help my people, it would be enough. And yet...because of her, I began having second thoughts," he admitted. A Yeerk, admitting that. "I found myself asking...why was I doing anything just for my people? What could I accomplish? Nothing. I wouldn't be a champion to them. I was nothing to begin with."

He gave a soft laugh. Finding something amusing that he kept it to himself. A memory, I guess.

"Until Elias gave me something worth fighting for."

"And that is?" I asked.

"A purpose."

It was unexpected to hear that from a Yeerk.

An alien, reduced to almost nothing from birth and not even a self-sacrifice could redeem him. The Yeerks wouldn't care about him, whether life or death.

But the one person to change that...was surprisingly his foe.

Orekor stepped away from the wall.

"I know a lot of things about Elias. And about you and that human, Kelly. I know you also made a few Yeerk allies. That's enough for me to help you save her. But only at our own pace."

(_What? But the longer we take, the more likely that Yeerk will spill out the beans,_) Tobias hollered.

"Yes, it'll be only a matter of time. But I know Iubic," Orekor explained resolutely. "I know how she thinks. How she plays her games. I've worked with her far too long to know just how she plans to capture you. She's the ambitious type. She wouldn't share the opportunity."

"How would you know?" I quietly demanded, trying to see his reasons.

"She almost tried to usurp three Sub-Vissers before. The same one twice even. Each time, she has always taken her time in planning. If anything, she'll want to get you all in one package before revealing anything to the Council. It's also difficult now because she has what Elias had."

At first, I wasn't sure what he meant. The only things Kelly and Elias had in common were that they were the same person and the visions. And...

"The calling," I gasped.

Orekor nodded. He also knew. "You have the morphing power. The human, Kelly, has the calling power. Do you think you can go heads on with a _Talith_?"

I thought about it.

I've seen those _Taliths_ fight. And I very much doubt a tiger, a wolf, an Andalite, a hawk, a bear and a gorilla can take down a creature that popped out from a video game.

(_You're saying...this Yeerk can use the calling power too?_)

"Use it to apprehend you, yes."

It was looking grim. A Yeerk holding all the cards and I knew she'd easily use them against them.

"So...what do we do then?" I found myself asking that question. Sounding weak.

I was the leader. Now I couldn't figure out how to save Kelly.

"She's still waiting for her moves to finish. I took them out. So it'll be a while before she makes her next one. When she does, she'll tell me. She knows that I'm just a pawn to her. That I won't betray her."

I was on edge at the last part. "And you still won't, right?"

He smirked. "I can imagine how furious she'd be if she learned how many times I have behind her back."

"You really are a double agent, huh?"

Orekor nodded. As if honored.

"Only you two know about us. Until we find out more what she has in mind for you all, you have to warn the others. You can't play into her games, no matter what."

That was an impossible request. We couldn't just leave Kelly alone. "But-"

"We know this is hard but you have to trust us on this. Iubic trusts only me. Who better to relay her plans to you?"

I was still edgy. Would I really allow a Yeerk to play espionage for us? Even when Kelly's life hanged on the line?

"Elias wouldn't have asked us to help you if she didn't trust me," Orekor said. "And I won't go back on her word. Not after everything we've done."

It was really strange to hear a Yeerk speak so highly of Elias. But then again, after everything, I wouldn't question how far his loyalty to her was.

Glynn then unbuckled a watch off his wrist. Just an average-looking watch. Nothing classy like a Rolex.

He took my hand and put the watch on.

"What are you doing?" I asked cautiously.

(_"CoNDI, unlock key security. Allow free access,"_) Glynn ordered. (_"Deactivate cloak."_)

(_"Affirmative,"_) said the robot voice.

_SHAANSH!_

In a burst of blue light, the watch suddenly melted down into a liquid that terrified me. I jumped as I watched my whole arm get swallowed by it. It hardened in something. Black. Faint blue neon lights.

If I had a better way of describing it, I'd say it has the same design as Elias' suit of armor.

I was instantly wearing a futuristic gauntlet piece.

(_Whoa!_) Tobias uttered.

I stared at the thing on my arm. Expecting my arm to come off. The piece just shimmered in blue light.

"We can contact you through that. Still need all of your thought-speech patterns for it to work. CoNDI will do that once you meet up with your friends," Glynn explained. "You'll be able to talk normally through it. Not just to me and Orekor but also other people involved. I think you might have met Ar't."

My eyes bugged. That name was really getting common now.

(_You know the guy?_) Tobias asked.

A glower. I think that was the Yeerk. "As much as I hate it, yes."

He then waved a hand over the strange gauntlet and it instantly deformed back into the watch. Glynn unbuckled the strap and handed to me.

"See it as a sign of good fate."

I took the watch. The strange gadget. I still found myself amazed I was carrying something that has Elias' technology.

Glynn then took out the sunglasses from his bag and wore them on. In an instant, his face, clothes, everything rippled like water. Changing into a completely different person.

The tourist from before.

He was about to turn away. Leave and continue on with the double agent façade.

(_Wait, where are you going?_)

Glynn stopped. Glanced at Tobias. "To do what Iubic doesn't expect me to do. Go behind her back."

"Why are you doing this?" I asked. "What is it you want from all this?"

Orekor thought for a moment. Hard. He had been asked this before.

"As a Devourer, I've never expected anything out of my actions. Now... What I want is..." He stopped, smiled weakly and shook his head. Hurt. "No Yeerk has ever accepted a Devourer's opinions... You hearing mine won't make a difference."

I said nothing. And Orekor expected that. He turned away quietly and left us there.

Left us to think what to do next. Until we'd hear from them.

(_What should we do now, Jake?_) Tobias asked me.

What else could we do?

Go back and meet the others.

All of us met at the barn. Maybe a bad idea, considering the Yeerk in Kelly's head had to also know about our usual place.

Tobias made two checks about before he calmly, without blame, related what had happened that day and afternoon.

Including Glynn and Orekor.

And Kelly as a Controller.

Marco had this to say after absorbing all of that, pulling his hair.

"HOW DID THIS HAPPENED! ?"

(_That, I'm not really sure,_) Tobias admitted.

Marco and Cassie were both...mildly angry at me about what happened at my house. What I tried to do to save my dad. All that changed once everyone learned about Kelly's grim fate.

(_Kelly..._) Ax said worriedly.

"What are we doing here? We got to save Kelly," Rachel uttered impatiently.

(_We can't. We don't know where she went._)

"And whose fault was that?" Marco snapped.

"It wasn't my decision to make," I barked back.

"This Orekor is a Yeerk. He's one of the bad guys. And he works with the Yeerk that got Kelly. He's playing with you."

(_Marco, he and his host were using Elias' tools. They particularly saved Jake._)

"And how would you know he's still in arms with Elias, even after she's dead? He could be a double double-agent."

(_Perhaps but I find that a bit uncertain,_) Ax added. (_If they are right that he is a Devourer, then his social status is truly degraded. He is simply an outcaste to his own race._)

"And what? He's just willingly on Elias' side because they treated him bad?" Marco uttered. "I don't buy it."

(_Devourers are rare but they are also perishable. Their survival rate, even among their kind, is near zero. They really do not have any privileges at all. Even breeding._)

"And he hasn't revealed anything to the Yeerks for a year. Not about us, or Elias," I stated.

"Really? You're taking a Yeerk's word? We know how the Yeerks operate. Not all of them are friendly. All you know is he could be waiting patiently for the right moment and then, _BAM_! He got us on a silver platter. He might even have second thoughts and turn back on us."

"He's not like other Yeerks," I said. "If he was, I would have been dead. You've seen what he did back at the mini mall."

Marco shook his head, seeing there wasn't going to be any convincing in this debate.

"What were you thinking? This guy can't be trusted," he hissed. "Or any of these guys. Just because they know Elias, doesn't mean they're on our side. Why haven't they approach us after Elias' death, hm? Why haven't they talked to us?"

I glared at him. "You're enjoying this, aren't you? This is payback for when I doubted you over your mother."

"I was ready to do what had to be done," Marco said.

"So am I!"

"No. You're not. You endangered all of us. You demorphed on your roof! On your roof! In broad daylight. You let the Yeerk take Kelly away and right now, she could be plotting anything! And you're going on a whim by another Yeerk! I wouldn't be surprised if we all are heading down in the Yeerk pool right now!"

"What's the matter with you all! ?" I cried. "Do you think that I don't feel terrible about all this?"

"Well, it's because of your dad, Kelly's in the mess in the first place."

I felt my face burning. "You're going too far. That was my father! My father! I'm supposed to just stand by and do nothing?"

"Exposing us and risking everything, including Kelly wasn't one of your choices."

"Ok, enough! This isn't solving anything and this isn't helping Kelly!" Rachel stepped in. "What's done is done! We've been protecting his dad since this Ar't person stepped in to help. And we know that a Yeerk knows about Elias. That doesn't change anything. Jake was also a Controller and we saved him."

"How? Wait for this Yeerk spy to contact us? Lead us right into a trap? We don't know anything about him. We can't be bubbies with him."

That was when Rachel put her foot down.

"Alright, Marco. Explain to us exactly why did Elias _ally_ herself with a Yeerk? And if you got a good answer, does that mean we go against everything Elias has done?"

Marco dared to open his mouth wide open. But stopped.

If he had any good answer, he'd be kicking himself at even thinking of doubting Elias.

Elias was a killer. A known slaughterer at the Yeerks for nine years. They feared her terribly, even Visser Three himself.

It seemed so...uncharacteristic for her to be friends with just one Yeerk. And a Yeerk with absolutely nothing.

"That's what I thought," Rachel said. "Now can we please go save Kelly?"

"You're really going to believe a Yeerk about this? That his main concern is about helping her?"

"If this Yeerk is the only one doing that, then yeah," Rachel hollered. "Because from what I'm hearing, he's our best lead right now."

"I'm not being unreasonable about saving her. I want to shake that Yeerk out of her just as badly as you do. But there's no way I'm putting my trust on this other Yeerk!"

He marched off to the table.

"And a sign of good fate?" Marco picked up the watch Glynn gave me. "For all you know, this could be a bomb."

_SHAANSH!_

"Gaaaaah!" He flew across the room, dropping it like it was a hot poker.

Before it hit the hay-covered floor, the watch stretched and shaped into the familiar gauntlet, immediately hovering off an inch away.

(_"Thought-speech pattern analysis complete."_)

"That voice, CoNDI?" Rachel uttered.

The familiar weird electronic sounds beeped throughout the barn for about a minute.

(_"So,"_) a voice spoke. Glynn's voice. (_"Is it a good time?"_)

Marco twitched back. Everyone jumped. Hearing the same kind of communication Elias had used before. And with another voice on the line.

(_"I take from the silence you're still clearing up some stuff."_)

Orekor's voice too.

* * *

Vickie: Sooooo...we have a Yeerk/Controller ally. And yup. Yup. They know Elias. :3 Never expected that, did ya?

Then again no one expected Kelly to end up as a Controller in the first book but there is a reason for an early fall. But don't worry. You know what Yeerks are like, power hungry for most of them. And how this relationship will be between a Yeerk Devourer and the Animorphs, it'll be something. Especially when you all have yet to hear what is his true motives. A purpose is something but exactly what is that purpose for a Yeerk to defy his own race too.

A much better question will be how all this will play out. One end is Tom trying every attention to get Jake's Dad while Kelly's Yeerk, Iubic is making new plans to bring the Animorphs down. On the other, the Animorphs have three new allies in the shadows (one more coming, spoiler :P ), a mysterious man named A'rt and a Yeerk/Host capable of using weapons like a spy. It's gonna be very interesting because it's mostly taking a different angle than the original story.

Also, I may take a while longer on the next chapter. It's still in progress but also because I'll be doing some projects and looking for a job. I'll try my best but you may not expect it to come as swift as like my previous chapters. In all, please be patient and look out for it. :) The suspense is of course killing you all and I don't want to leave this as a haitus and make you disappointed. So no worries.

So for now, hope you enjoy this chapter and r'n'r. Feedback is great. Thanks for reading! :D


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